Gardenia
by cinnabean
Summary: "She is like a Gardenia flower. She grows only in the richest of soils. She is the purest. Treat her well." After meeting a commoner by the name of Geum JanDi, Kim Sohee didn't feel as cold-hearted as she thought she was. *Re-boot of my fanfic Boys Over Flowers: My Version*
1. Episode 1

-Gardenia-

-1-

As school began, the classroom to Ms. Oh's performance class began to fill. I watched as most of the faces I've been acquainted with since pre-school casually walked into their seats. I watched as my classmates began to boast about their newest form of electronic, their newest purse, or their newest piece of gold jewelry, though they most likely have tons of the same thing at home. I inwardly began to frown as I thought about how materialistic all of my classmates were.

Three of my closest friends in school sat in the seats in front of me. Ginger, whose father is a Senator, is most known for her witty attitude, glossy hair, and perfect double-eyelids to go with her bright smile. Sunny was mostly known for her lack of wits, but also for her family's fashion empire, and her always-perfect makeup. Miranda's family owned most of the electronics that a lot of the students were currently holding. With her small frame and tall nose, everyone looked up to her. Though they were my best friends, they were the most stuck up girls in the entire world.

"Do you want to go clubbing this weekend, then?" I heard Miranda ask Ginger, who grinned and thought about it briefly.

"If we go clubbing, we definitely have to bring the life of the party with us!" Ginger smiled as she turned to me. "SoHee-yah, you're going clubbing with us on Saturday, right?" She asked, possibly already predicting that I'll say yes.

I grinned and nodded. "Of course!" I replied and they happily squealed in delight.

As they started to talk about hair, nails, and clothes, my mind started to drift elsewhere.

Suddenly, I heard shouting in the school hallways. It began as muffled, but as the student ran down the halls, the statement became more apparent. The statement made my blood run cold.

"Lee MinHa, Year 2, Class A, Has a Red Card!" The student shouted as he pounded on lockers to get everyone's attention. As everyone started running outside the classroom to begin on their new target, I stayed in my seat and began to space out.

The F4 were always a complicated topic for me. I knew how they were outside of school and away from students who filled their egos. They were normal guys who were childish and mischievous at times. They were at one time like older brothers to me. When they are in Shinhwa, it's an entirely different story. They act inhumane while bullying students and making them feel inferior. In my opinion, that's what makes the F4 the most insecure and inferior people out of anyone in this school.

I walked out into the hallways when I knew that it was safe to come out. I knew that mostly everyone took the F4 notice as a chance to leave to the cafe area in hopes of running into the F4. I caught up with Summer, an exchange student, and Hyemi, who was Summer's best friend. They were talking about a watch that a student got and my interest immediately faded.

"Apparently there were only two like it in the whole entire world!" Hyemi exclaimed. "Baekho has one and Gu JunPyo has the other one!" She chirped.

"Didn't Baekho lose his watch last week?" Summer asked as Hyemi began to lean into her direction.

"I heard that Gu JunPyo threw Baekho's watch into the school pool. My boyfriend said that he saw him do it while he was coming out from the locker room." Hyemi pouted and my brows started to furrow.

"Ah, Really? I heard that the watch was $9,000!" Summer exclaimed. "Baekho isn't that rich, it's not like he can get another one of those…" She pouted as Hyemi looked at her and they both broke out laughing.

I looked at the two and bit my lip. They didn't have to be so cruel.

Suddenly, a bike sped past me and almost hit me with the clothes that were hanging off of the rack on the back of it. "I'm so sorry!" The biker apologized as she sped away.

"How gross," Hyemi shook her head. "When did we get such reckless laundry deliverers?" She joked and I half-heartedly laughed. We continued to joke around until we went towards the food area. We heard someone yelling hysterically and grouped around to find out what was wrong.

"Lee Minha is about to jump from the rooftop right now!" A student shouted, trying to get all of our attention. My heart began to pound as tons of students began to run up the stairs. I was frozen in place until I realized that this needs to end before he actually has to jump.

Someone has to stop this before it gets any worse; Even if it's _me_.

When I opened the steel doors, the poor guy was covered in blood as students laughed and filmed. I began to feel sick to my stomach. Why wouldn't anyone help such a quiet student, who hasn't done anything to anyone?

The student began to look down towards the ground and took a deep breath before beginning to jump. Everyone gasped and I froze once again.

"Wait!" A voice cried as everyone turned towards the owner of the scream. The tiny girl tiredly lugged her bike over to the student, dry cleaning trailing from the back. She stopped for a few seconds to catch her breath as everyone waited for her to say something.

"Who...are you?" Lee Minha asked, just as confused as the rest of us.

The girl gave a cheeky smile and a bow before introducing herself. "I'm from Geum Dry Cleaning and I'm here to deliver your clothes!"

"Is she stupid?" I muttered as students began to laugh.

"Please, bill it to my house once I'm dead." Minha sarcastically deadpanned as the girl swatted his statement off, thinking that he was joking until she took a closer look at the situation.

"D-Die! You're going to kill yourself right now…?" She questioned the obvious. "But...Why? You go to such an amazing school!" She finished as Minha scoffed.

"This isn't a school, it's hell." He commented as the girl gasped. "The real hell is outside of this school! Have you ever heard of the hell that is admissions?" She joked and everyone gave her a blank stare.

"Have you ever heard of the F4?" Minha asked and the girls brows furrowed. "F...F what?" She asked as I rolled my eyes.

"F4…? What's that?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Once you get a red card from them, you are prey for the entire school. Remember that." He finished.

"You can't let them do that to you!" She began as she angrily waved her hands around. "It's always the lame losers who walk around like they're the shit! If they were at my school, I would've grabbed them and broken them!" She shouted as she made hand motions.

"Your friends are fortunate." Minha suddenly said, making the girl raise her brows in confusion.

"W-What?" She asked.

"They're fortunate because they have a friend like you." He finished as she was obviously flattered.

She put a hand on her heart while saying "Ah, I suppose…"

Her flattery was cut short by Minha attempting to jump off of the balcony. Students gasped and I felt my heart stop. I cringed and closed my eyes as time began to slow down.

"No!" I heard the girl shout as more gasps rang throughout the rooftop. I opened my eyes to see that the dry cleaner had Minha by his shirt and grabbed him, saving him from his death. I felt a sense of relief rush through me as I saw him being hoisted up. I had only wished that I was as brave as that commoner.

#

Once my driver dropped me off from school, I unlocked the doors to my spacious house made of mostly brick. I would never call this house a home because of how empty it always felt to me. "Is anyone here…?" I called out. I was met by the usual silence I heard whenever I came home from school. I sighed and walked upstairs to my room. I took off my shoes and immediately buried myself under my blanket.

I turned my TV on as I peeped only my head out from under the blanket. The news channel showed massive riots that have been happening since our early dismissal from school. My mother even requested that I would be sent home today because of the rioters making their way towards our school. I began to pout as I hung upside down from my bed.

"I just wish that the F4 didn't have to be so insensitive." I thought as I huffed. That girl at the rooftop was braver than anyone at that school. I knew that it wouldn't be the last time that I'll see her.

I turned over and buried face under the blankets completely. "Senior year is going to be my longest year…" I fake-sobbed as I grabbed my backpack to get started on my homework.

#

"Apparently we have a new student," Ginger remarked as we walked into school together. "I heard she's poor. Her family owns a laundromat or something like that." She stated as she took a sip of water.

"Poor people are so rude and disgusting," Miranda began and I frowned. "If she acts as ghetto as they do, she won't last longer than a week." She laughed as they continued to quicken their pace because they wanted a better place to see the F4. I trailed along behind them, feeling even more disconnected to them than before. Over the past few years, they became even more shallow than they've ever been. I could tell that our friendships were based more on status than actual relationship.

I watched as the F4 approached the front entrance. "The F4 has arrived!" Sunny squealed as the guys walked in. The girls around me began to scream and I scanned the faces of the F4 for what seemed like the first time in forever.

Gu Junpyo was the F4's "leader". He's spoiled, very childish and, combined with his power, can be very dangerous. His mother and my step-father are very close business colleagues so we spent a great chunk of our childhood together. Our parents wanted us to click, but it never happened because we have absolutely nothing in common.

Song Woobin is called the "Don Juan" of the group, with a charming smile to match his chill personality. Nobody knows much about his family background, but we know never to make him angry.

So Yijung is the "Casanova" of the group. He's most famous for having a girl around his arm every few weeks (Ginger, Sunny, and Miranda included) and, though every girl knows he's a player, they still fall for him every time.

Finally, there's Yoon Jihoo. Jihoo is hard to explain and he intrigues me the most. While all the other members of the F4 pulled at my pigtails or put gum in my hair and isolated me from anything they were doing while growing up, Jihoo would always be the peacemaker and I've always deeply liked him for that.

Once he looked into my direction, I completely adverted my gaze away from him and blinked rapidly. " _Please don't look at me."_ I prayed repeatedly in my mind. Luckily, the F4's attention got side-tracked by a student. I looked a bit closer to find out that the student and Junpyo were wearing the same shirt. Knowing how selfish Junpyo is, I knew it wouldn't end well.

There was a long silence as students waited in anticipation to see what they would do.

"Woobin, do you still have your juice?" Junpyo asked coldly. Woobin perked up at the mention of his name and quickly responded.

"Yeah, do you want some?" He asked as he handed Junpyo the bottle. In his eyes, I could tell that Woobin didn't expect Junpyo to dump the juice on the poor student's shirt. Junpyo walked away without remorse, his friends following behind.

Behind me, I heard a girl ranting. I knew it couldn't have been anyone who has been here for a long time because nobody talks of the F4 so lowly.

"Oh. My. God." Ginger exclaimed in English before turning over to the girl. My eyes widened as I realized that it's the same girl who saved Lee Minha. "I cannot believe what I'm hearing!" Ginger dramatically exclaimed. I cringed because I knew that they had new prey to bully.

"I'm sorry but...who are you?" The girl (Geum JanDi, as it said on the School ID around her neck) asked, confused. Ginger scoffed.

"Ginger." She said as she posed.

"Sunny~" Sunny phonily smiled.

"Miranda!" Miranda followed because the others were doing it.

They looked over at me expectantly, wanting me to follow after them. I knew in this moment I could show this new student who isn't rich at all that not all rich people will be disgusting. I gave a warm smile and bowed wholeheartedly. The other three gasped at my warm greeting.

"Hi, my name is Kim Sohee," I introduced formally. "Welcome to Shinhwa." I finished as I extended my hand for a shake, in which Ginger slapped my hand away.

"When you were ranting, you weren't referring to the F4, were you?" Ginger asked as she began to walk up towards her. JanDi blinked a few times.

"So, the people who just publically humiliated that kid were the infamous F4?" She asked, making Miranda scoff.

"Infamous? More like famous!" Miranda cheered.

"And you better watch your mouth, commoner, or else you'll get into a lot of trouble around here." Ginger glared as she leaned into where JanDi was. JanDi sized Ginger up before backing up slightly. "You guys own a laundromat...correct?" She suddenly asked.

"Actually, it's Dry Cleaning," JanDi corrected, making the three girls start laughing snobbily. I began to clench my fists because of how they were bullying JanDi. It was as if they wanted to become the F4.

"This is my first time seeing a dry cleaner's daughter!" Sunny exclaimed as she leaned in. "It's so...fascinating!" She finished and I had enough with their attitude.

"That's enough out of you guys." I spoke up for the first time in forever. Ginger looked bewildered. "What's the difference between being a dry cleaner's daughter and being the daughter of anything else? At the end of the day, we're all people." I began.

"Does it matter if she's a commoner? Get off of her back. It must already be hard enough transferring into a new school and already being ridiculed for how much money she has," My voice was stern and my face was emotionless. It was as if I had held this in for many years.

"Can you guys grow a heart? You guys are so shallow that it's annoying." I rolled my eyes.

"Sohee-yah...What does this mean!?" Ginger exclaimed, completely exasperated.

"It means that you guys need to stop being spoiled brats and maybe one day someone will actually want to be your friend because I'm out." I deadpanned. They stood frozen.

"Did you not hear me? Peace out, girl scouts!" I asked as I raised my eyebrows, and Ginger grunted as she quickly rushed away with her friends.

JanDi looked completely amazed at what just happened. "I'm sorry for my stuck up classmates. They can be a huge pain." I apologized as I extended my hand, which JanDi hesitantly shook.

"My name is Geum JanDi" She formally introduced and bowed. I gave a genuine smile; One that I haven't given in a very long while. No one was worthy of that smile for a very long time.

"I can tell you need a friend and I'd be more than happy to at least show you around, especially with how rude some people can be around here." I smiled and JanDi returned the smile.

"Thank you so much!" She bowed.

#

As the week progressed, I began to spend more time alone and with a completely new person. I started smiling a lot more because of how warm of a person JanDi really is. She didn't talk much about clothes, money or jewelry, and we were even able to laugh about how superficial the rich really were.

As we were laughing at lunch, a mousy voice approached us. JanDi paused in eating her food, and the girl asked if she could try some. We both looked at each other and nodded. It was the first time a long while where I felt friendly and approachable.

"Disgusting...What is that horrible smell?" I heard an annoyingly familiar voice ask as they came towards our table. Ginger stood in front of JanDi as she ate, and JanDi froze, looking up at her.

"What cheap, disgusting food." She gagged as she sprayed some of her nauseating perfume over JanDi's food very rudely. JanDi had to cover her food hurriedly.

I stood up. "The only thing that's cheap and disgusting right now is your attitude," I began. "Stop being a spoiled brat." I glared and Ginger scoffed.

"Says the girl who traded us in for ghetto trash." Sunny laughed. "Last week, you were laughing with us about how stupid poor people are, and this week, you're hanging out with this trash?" Miranda chipped in as the three of them made a "tsk" noise.

"You're so fake." Ginger giggled as she walked away with the others.

I rolled my eyes, and sat back down. The exchange between me and the trio caused a bit of commotion as students started looking at me and whispering, possibly about why I'm hanging out with commoners. I could also feel someone glaring at the back of my head.

Suddenly, their attention was diverted to the F4, who were walking down the stairway and into the cafe. Students began to cheer, and from where I was sitting, I could hear Miranda's squealing.

As they walked down the stairs regally, a brave student stepped in front of the group. She was holding what looked like a cake. I cringed already because I knew that this wouldn't go well at all.

"Gu Junpyo Sunbaenim," She began, formally. "I made this cake for you by myself. Please accept this as a token of my heart!" She bowed, gesturing the cake towards him and everyone gasped dramatically.

Junpyo looked at the girl with a blank expression. He looked at the cake and began to smile, throwing everyone off guard. When he picked the cake up out of her hands, the girl looked really expectant and everyone gasped. While smiling, he quickly smashed the cake into her face.

The room was completely silent as everyone froze in complete awe. I looked over as JanDi got up from her seat and walked over to Junpyo before I could stop her.

"Why would you do that? You could've at least taken the cake, even though you wouldn't have eaten it!" She began. "You have no reason to be such a prick!" She shouted and my mouth hung open when she said that. I hadn't heard anyone ever talk to Gu Junpyo that way, not even his sister.

"Excuse me? Do you have something to say?" Junpyo asked as he stared down at the small girl.

"Yeah, I have something to say to you," She started. "Don't you have the slightest bit of remorse for other human beings, or is your head stuck that far up your ass? Do you not have a little bit of modesty for someone who has so much? What if one day she decided to jump off of a roof you heartless bastard!?" JanDi shouted and the rest of the F4 began to stare agape at her.

"Anything else?" Junpyo asked, blankly. I stood up and walked towards Jandi, holding her back by her arm. She took a look at me as I shook my head and sighed. "No, Gu Junpyo." She replied.

He wordlessly walked away as the rest of his squad followed. I could see that Jihoo was smiling at the exchange that just happened and I couldn't help but smile as well.

#

The next day, I brought ice-cream for JanDi, our newest friend,Oh Minji, and I to share. "You're too sweet! Thank you so much!" JanDi bowed as she took the carton of ice-cream. "Thank you so much, Sohee sunbae!" Minji politely bowed as well.

"It's nothing!" I swatted off as I grinned and dabbed their noses with ice-cream.

"Hey!" JanDi grinned as she tried to do the same thing, but I ended up running off playfully.

"Get back here~" Minji playfully exclaimed as she ran.

"Never!" I laughed. After a few seconds, all I heard was silence.

"Did you slow pokes give up alre-" My teasing was cut off by seeing why the silence happened. Ice-cream was all over Gu Junpyo's shoe and he blankly looked down at Minji in slight disgust.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Junpyo!" she frantically bowed. Junpyo let out a chuckle.

"Sorry?" He mocked. "If the whole world worked on apologies, there would be no police." He deadpanned as I could see Minji getting tearful and upset.

"Please, I'll do anything I can!" She pleaded as he raised an eyebrow.

"Anything?" He echoed and I cringed.

"Then lick it." He emotionlessly said.

"Huh?" Minji replied, not understanding the context.

"Lick the ice-cream off of my shoe." Junpyo demanded.

"Hey," I began, regretting it immediately.

"Quit acting like you're royalty, she already apologized and even _offered_ to buy you new shoes," I defended, making JanDi tug my arm, whispering for her to handle it. "You don't have to be such a spoiled brat all of the time, just clean off your shoes. It's just ice-cream." I finished, making the rest of the F4 look bewildered, mainly because this was the first time they've heard me speak in years.

"Kim Sohee," Junpyo began, his expression unchanging. "You seem to have grown up to forget your manners, especially since you're hanging out with this annoying bug." He pointed to JanDi, who was obviously offended.

Yijung whispered into Junpyo's ear inaudible. "Is that so? The bug right there is that Wonder Girl shit I've been hearing about?" He chucked. "I was hoping for an S-line, D-cup girl when I heard Wonder Woman. What a disappointment." He joked as the rest of the F4 chuckled. JanDi let out a fake smile.

"I'm more than happy to disappoint you." She commented and the chuckling stopped.

"Where do you think you are? You're always butting into strangers problems." Junpyo interrupted.

"She's not a stranger, she's my friend and I will defend her if I want to." JanDi began. "You pick on people for absolute fun! You wave your money around as a trophy though it's all your parents money and you haven't earned a penny all of your life!" She shouted, completely taking the F4 aback.

"And where I come from, we call that a scrub." She stated, making Woobin and Yijung make an 'Ooooooh' sound in the background.

JanDi took out her wallet and pulled out 1,000 won. I was confused as to what she was doing until I saw her tuck it into Junpyo's collar. "Now you can actually say that you're worth something more than your parent's bank account," She said as she buried her ice cream into his shirt.

Everyone stared wide-eyed as she sassily walked off, pulling Minji along with her. The F4 adverted their gaze to me, who was just as surprised. "What…? I didn't bury the ice cream into Junpyo's shirt!" I defended.

#

The next day, my entire performance class was gossiping about what happened. I was entirely too nervous for JanDi all morning. If the school heard, then it will only take a little bit of time before she'll get a Red Card, or her classmates will bully her.

"I heard that the commoner girl dumped ice-cream on Junpyo's shirt," I heard as Ginger sat in front of me. She turned to me with a disgusted look on her face. "Your friend is a lot of trouble. I didn't think you'd be into hanging out with such a trashy person." She laughed.

"Unless, you're just as trashy as she is." Sunny teased and the others let out their witchy laughs. "Have you hooked up with any commoner guys lately? You should introduce us." She let out another laugh as the other two high-fived her.

"Trust me, I've been with you guys for more than half of my life, so I know what trashy is." I blankly stared. The laughter stopped, as they looked offended. "Tell me Ginger, has HyunKi ever called you back?" I asked and Ginger's face automatically hardened. She walked up towards me with her face visibly turning red.

"Did you start that rumor you bitch!?" She asked as she started to swing at me.

"Hey!" I shouted as I defended myself and everyone in the classroom was trying to move her away from me. Our bickering was cut short by banging on the lockers and shouting in the hallways.

"Geum JanDi, Year 2, Class B has a Red Card!" We heard a student shout as he knocked on each classroom door. My heart started to pound as I ran out of the classroom without any thought. I had to find JanDi before it was too late.

I ran towards her locker and, once I found her, I saw how exasperated she looked. "We have to get you out of here and quick." I told her as we began to walk down the corridor that seemed the most empty. Once we were caught by students, they started to chase us and we had no choice but to start running.

"Ah, Shit, we're screwed!" JanDi shouted as we took off. I made sure to grab her wrist so we couldn't be separated.

As soon as we thought we lost them, I noticed that we ran straight into the main corridor. They led us straight to the trap they set up, especially when I noticed that every other student had eggs in each hand and flour in bags.

"Now, we're screwed." I muttered as we froze.

* * *

Hello~ Welcome to my Re-boot! As you can see, I'm doing my reboot in episodic order, much like the previous story! Which means that the flow of the story will follow the story of the original K-Drama, though I'm adding my own twist to it! There will be new surprises, new couples, new characters, and a new ending altogether (With a guaranteed sequel!).

I will be back very very soon! And I want to thank Inari09 for editing all of my mistakes and picking up the pieces of my writers' block! Thank you for being a lovely friend! ;U;

Until next chapter~

-BunniUnni


	2. Episode 2

-Gardenia-

-2-

#

"It hurts, get it from my eyes!" JanDi shouted, as I took a warm rag from a bucket of water and rang it out. We sat at a place where we knew we couldn't be disturbed by students. It was the rooftop of a hallway that was closed for renovations.

"I'm trying here, shouting isn't going to make it hurt any less." I chuckled lightly. We were covered from head to toe in flour and egg, and we were making light of the situation. I took the damp rag and wiping off her face. "I'll make sure to buy you a new uniform!" I grinned, and she shook her head.

"You really don't have to do that, Sohee sunbae!" JanDi defended, and I just smiled. "I want to, because you're my friend." I simply stated, as I started to wipe off her hair.

"Why are you so nice to me?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"You know, I haven't genuinely smiled since High School started." I suddenly said, as she blinked rapidly.

"But I see you smile all the time!" She tilted her head in confusion. I nodded, and started wiping her jacket off. "It wasn't until I met you, honestly." I began.

"When I met you, I actually found somebody who wanted to talk about relevant things, not just shoes, clothes, jewelry, or someone's looks and fortune!" I smiled. "I met somebody genuine, and warm-hearted!" I finished, as I brushed her off one more time. "That's why I'm your friend."

She smiled back at me, and bowed. "Thank you for choosing me as a friend."

There was a comfortable silence until the bell for the next class rang. JanDi stood up, and helped me stand. "I'm going to go swimming," JanDi said, as she bowed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked, completely concerned. After what happened, I didn't know what these students would be capable of. JanDi brightly smiled, and shook her head.

"I think I'll be strong enough to make it through!" She reassured herself. I smiled, and gave her a hug.

"You are strong enough, hm?" I said, as I ruffled her hair. "Meet me after school, hm? I'll drive you home!" She nodded, as she aimlessly walked away.

I took my mirror out of my purse, and saw that I was still covered in dry egg and flour. I wet the rag again, and was about to begin to clean myself off until I heard shuffling behind me. I turned around to see Yoon Jihoo standing behind where he was presumably sleeping. I let out a very audible squeak by accident and quickly turned around. My heart felt like it would pound out of my chest.

"First your friend, and now you?" He began, as he walked towards a stone pillar and leaned against it. "You both are equally as noisy." He finished, and it took all of the strength in my body to turn around.

I couldn't speak even if I tried to, so I just picked up the bucket with the rag, and slowly began to walk out, because I felt as though my whole body was jelly. 'Gain some composure, Sohee.' I mentally cursed.

"Hey, do you know how to make hotcakes?" Jihoo suddenly asked. I turned around quickly, confused by the question. "Hotcakes?" I asked, confirming that it's what he said. He gave a nod, and I put the bucket down.

"U-uh," I started as I stuttered. "You use flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, and then you fry them." I confirmed. He looked as though he was in deep thought. "That seems simple…" was all that he said. There was an awkward silence, and I took the opportunity to look down at my appearance. JanDi took most of the hit, but I got the immediate aftershock.

My thoughts were cut short by my face being touched. I looked up to see Jihoo wiping my face with a handkerchief, and he looked down at me. My body started to feel as though it was burning up, and once he looked into my eyes, I had to look elsewhere. I cursed myself because I was obviously blushing.

Throughout the years, I had a huge liking to Yoon Jihoo. While the others disincluded me from whatever they were doing, Jihoo was always by himself and would let me join him. As high school approached, the cliques got a lot more closed, and I saw him a lot less, but whenever I saw him, I knew in my heart that I still liked him just as much as I did when I was younger. Even when he clinged to Seohyun instead of me, I didn't know it at the time because I was a bit too young to understand, but I knew that it was a feeling of sadness.

He folded the handkerchief and handed it to me. I blinked for a second, before gesturing for him to take it back. "This is yours-" I started, but he interrupted.

"Keep it. I don't need it." He said, as began to exit. As soon as the door closed behind me, I was able to mutter a quick "Thank you."

#

After school, I waited for JanDi in the front of the building. She was running a bit late, and I was worried more than ever. I bit my lip, and checked the time again. I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I didn't know why.

Soon after, JanDi ran out of the front doors in tears, and her uniform blouse was half open. As soon as she ran out, I gave her a huge hug, and she started crying. "What's the matter?" I asked, trying to figure out what exactly happened.

"After I swam, I went into the locker room to get changed, and all of a sudden a group of guys walked in, and they started ganging up on me," She began, as she started to cry harder. I started to turn red in anger. "I-I wouldn't have made it out unless Jihoo didn't see." She said, and the mention of his name made my heart skip a beat.

"He really does have a heart. I mean, if you dyed his hair white, he'd be frosty the snowman!" I tried to make a joke to make the atmosphere lighter, and shake off the feeling I felt. JanDi let out a genuine laugh.

We walked into the parking lot, where I pointed out my car. "Get in, I'll drive you home!" I offered, as JanDi look a look at my car, and automatically went wide-eyed.

"T-This is your car!" She stuttered, looking at the dark purple lamborghini. I nodded, and gave a toothy smile.

I got it as a gift from my mom! It's one of my favorite things in the world!" I exclaimed, as I got into the driver's' seat. Once JanDi got in, I started the engine.

"I've never seen a rich person so thankful for a car that they could probably have 10 of." JanDi said, as she looked out the window. I nodded in agreement.

"It's sad that they have so much money but aren't even thankful for anything that they have." I shook my head as I started driving.

Once we arrived at her 2nd job, a restaurant named "Slow Food", she bowed gratefully, and I waved as I drove off. I didn't tell JanDi where I was about to go because I knew she would disapprove, but I had to discuss some business with the F4.

#

As soon as I appeared at Junpyo's spacious mansion, I was immediately greeted by the butlers. They knew me by a name-basis already, especially since most of the butlers have been in business with the Gu family for more than 10 years.

The butler led me down to the F4's lounge, where the 3 who occupied it were distracted by various video games, card games, and movies. I walked farther into the room, catching the attention of Woobin, and Yijung as Junpyo was distracted by his video game and facing away from me.

I sat next to him on the leather couch, as he didn't acknowledge my presence. I heard Woobin trying not to laugh in the distance.

"Gu Junpyo!" I shouted, completely making him jump, and having his controller fly out of his hands. "Kim Sohee!" He echoed, making Yijung and Woobin practically die of laughter.

"The next time that you make your "minions" do your dirty work for you, make sure that they don't try to rape females you piece of shit!" I yelled, as I flung pillows at him.

"What are you going on about, 1,000 Won's friend?" Woobin asked seriously, as I was still glaring at Junpyo.

"Those guys that you hired to take care of Geum JanDi? Yeah, they tried to rape her." I deadpanned, as I threw pillows at Junpyo once more.

"Chill out, you Gremlin!" Junpyo yelled, as I stopped. There was a silence before he began to speak again. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I only wanted for them to scare he-" He began before I interrupted.

"You're so disgusting." I started. I contemplated for a second. "I'm telling your sister." I finished, as I motioned to pick up my phone. Junpyo jumped up as quickly as ever.

"No!" He shouted, as I began to dial numbers. "Kim Sohee! Don't call her or else-"

"Or else I get a red card and I'll have to bring my stepfather into this?" I threatened, as I slowly kept dialing. "Kim Sohee!" Junpyo shouted as he began to chase after me.

"You'll have to catch me first~" I taunted, as I ran around the room. I could hear Woobin dying of laughter. It felt as though we did in middle school; Back when we were all like siblings.

"Kim Sohee, stop right now." Junpyo demanded, out of breath. I stopped, and taunted as if I was going to press the send button.

"What do you want from me, you demon?" Junpyo asked. I narrowed my eyes at him, and thought for a long moment.

"I want you to get rid of JanDi's Red Card notice, and-" I began, and Junpyo stopped me.

"And?" He interjected, amused.

"And, I want you to…" I trailed off, thinking of something nice he could do. I snapped when I thought of something. "I want you to invite Geum JanDi along on the field trip we're having. It's a cruise, right? You can afford it." I demanded, and Junpyo snorted.

"Why would I invite 1,000 Won to do anything?" Junpyo asked, and I motioned at my phone, as he rolled his eyes. "Alright. Now get out of my house you annoying bug." Junpyo ordered, and I made a hand signal to motion that I'm watching him, as I walked out with a smile on my face.

#

As soon as I walked into school, whispering filled the halls. I considered turning back already, but I took a deep breath, and kept walking. Suddenly, a hand grasped my shoulder and I turned around. It was Ginger, with a smug expression on her face.

"Is it true? About your friend," Ginger began, with fake sympathy dripping from her voice. "Is she really pregnant?" She asked, making my face scrunch up in confusion.

"Where did you hear such a stupid thing?" I asked, as she shoved her phone in my face. As I read the text, and it said that one girl in Shinhwa, Year 2 with the initial 'K' in her family name was pregnant, I shrugged. "So, what? That could be anybody!" I stated, and she laughed.

"It's so weird that this is all happening as soon as you two met," She started, as I rolled my eyes. "And the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree as they say," She said, as she circled around me. "Tell me, Sohee: Are you as much of a slut as your friend i-" Ginger was interrupted by a slap to her face.

I looked over to see JanDi, clearly offended. She grabbed my wrist, and charged off with me. "I need to settle this with that devil of an F4 leader!" She shouted.

#

We made our way into the F4's territory within the school. When we walked in, we both crossed our arms and glared at Junpyo. "What did I say? She came looking for me!" Junpyo gloated to his friends.

"Gu Junpyo, we had a deal!" I whined at him because of how childish he was acting. He looked genuinely amused.

"Quit whining, I agreed to take away her red card notice, and invite her to the cruise, and that's all I had to do on my part." He shrugged, and technically, he was right. He then turned to JanDi. "If you came to apologize, it's too late 1000 Won." He deadpanned.

"Why must the victim apologize to the culprit?" JanDi asked, angrily. Junpyo raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?" He asked, as he stood up.

"Did I stutter?" She asked, as she got into a fighting stance. Everyone who was watching was completely bewildered.

"Hey you, What are you doing?" Junpyo asked, obviously taken aback as well.

"I told you, I won't take this anymore!" She shouted, as she roundhouse kicked him in the face. I gasped, and clasped my hands over my mouth, as I couldn't stop laughing. I heard Yijung laughing too hard in the background, while saying "Hooooly shit!"

"Did you ever see me with a man!? Did you ever see me even holding hands? I haven't even had my first kiss yet!" She fumed, as Junpyo stared at her completely astonished. It was the first time in a long while that I've seen genuine emotion aside from brattiness come out of him.

"If you keep this up, then I'll really have to kill you!" She shouted, as I held her back before she could do anymore damage. He looked up at me, and I began to sweat.

"The cruise trip deal is cancelled you little shit!" He shouted, and JanDi perked up.

"Good! Because I didn't want to be stuck on a boat with you for the weekend anyways!" She shouted, as she stormed out.

#

"Y'know, I think Gu JunPyo might like you," I smiled, as I drove JanDi home. JanDi scoffed, and quickly shook her head.

"Gu Junpyo? And I?" She questioned, as she gagged. "I would throw up, but he isn't worth it." She scrunched up her nose in disapproval, and I laughed at her reaction.

"I bet right now, Gu Junpyo is sitting down, with his usual smug expression, and thinking 'She likes me'." I giggled, and JanDi cringed. "I don't see that at all," She muttered, as she shook her head.

"Usually people don't see it right away, but give it a few weeks," I said, as I pulled up to her house.

"I know him, and I think he'll soften up to you if he really likes you." I smiled.

"Whatever you say~" She said, in a condescending tone, as she opened the car door. "Ah, wait!" I shouted before she left. "Hm?" She asked.

"I forgot to give this to you!" I smiled, as I handed her a ticket for her trip.

"Is this a ticket for the trip!?" She asked, and I nodded.

"It covers your hotel expenses! Since you said that you didn't want to be caught dead on a ship with Junpyo overnight, I requested that I drive my family's speedboat!" I gave a toothy smile, and she stared wide eyed.

"You're driving a speedboat?" She asked, completely astonished that a rich person would know how to drive a speedboat, and I laughed, and ruffled her hair at her reaction.

"It's not much, but speedboats are a ton of fun!" I happily said, and she gave the hugest smile that I've ever seen her wear.

"Thank you so much, Sohee-eonnie!" She bowed happily, as she left the car, and waved enthusiastically.

I waved back at her as I drove off. 'I just hope that I did the right thing with letting her go.' I prayed in my mind.

#

As I walked into school, I walked up the stairs to the building, and quickly turned around when I realized who was hiding behind the concrete steps. I froze, and backed up slowly, as I ducked down and saw JanDi hiding.

"Geum JanDi?" I asked, as I sat down with her. She ducked my head down, and put a finger to her lips, making a loud 'SHHH' noise. I was beyond confused.

"Why are you hiding?" I whispered, as I looked around and saw no apparent danger. 

"I'm so sick of Gu Junpyo," She began. "I just want to lay low for the rest of the day so he won't have an excuse to find me." She ended, and I laughed.

"JanDi, get a hold of yourself!" I joked, as I pulled her up, and she hesitantly stood. I brushed myself off before starting to walk up the stairs with her.

"Junpyo has been awfully quiet, and plus you have me by your side at all times! If he lets anyone lift a finger on yo-" I turned around to see JanDi completely gone. "G-Geum JanDi!" I whimpered, as she was nowhere in sight, not even under the stairway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a limo drive off, with the flag on the side belonging to the Gu family's. As soon as the window rolled down, I saw JanDi's hands waving frantically out of the window, and her screaming.

"Hey!" I shouted, as the limo sped off. I pouted, and went straight for the F4 lounge. When I went through the door, Junpyo and Jihoo nowhere to be found, and I crossed my arms. I would have to deal with the players of the bunch.

"Oh, if it isn't the gremlin!" Yijung teased, and I rolled my eyes. 

"Where is Gu Junpyo?" I asked, as Woobin and Yijung exchanged glances, obviously confused.

"We actually haven't seen him this morning at all," Woobin began. "I think he said that he had some business to take care of at home." He shrugged, and I scoffed.

"Well that "business" was Geum JanDi." I pouted. "I just saw her in one of his limos."

Their glances became interested. "Really?" They both asked at the exact same time, and I nodded. Yijung got up from his seat, and pulled out a chair in front of them.

"You should take a seat." He offered, and I crossed my arms. The only way this could actually end is if the F4 and I were on friendly terms, and maybe we could all help each other out. I puffed out my cheeks absentmindedly, and hesitantly took a seat in front of the three.

"We wanted to thank you for the amazing entertainment that you and your friend have been giving us for the past few days," Woobin smugly smiled, and I scrunched my nose up.

"Entertainment?" I echoed, and they nodded. "Yeah, the past few days have been a blast thanks to you guys!" Yijung joked, as he poured a glass of tea and motioned it my way. I playfully raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, is it poisoned?" I joked, and they began to laugh. "I doubt there's any poison in it, Sohee." Woobin reassured, as I took a sip.

"This trip is going to be a blast," Yijung begun, as Woobin nodded in agreement. "Especially since Seohyun is coming back." He finished. As soon as he mentioned Seohyun's name, I choked on my tea, and they glanced at me curiously.

"Maybe that was the one with the poison." Woobin playfully contemplated, and I had to laugh at the one-liner.

"I didn't know Seohyun was coming back!" I glanced, surprised, and Yijung nodded.

"It feels as though the entire squad is coming back together," Yijung sighed. "It feels a lot like old times." He commented, and I nodded.

"Jihoo must be very happy" Woobin said, and my heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. 'Just like old times' echoed in my head, as I took another sip of tea to hide the pout I was subconsciously doing.

#

As soon as we boarded on to the speedboat, I could see JanDi's excitement. Her excitement immediately rubbed off on me, and we were both completely giddy. "This is the first time I've ever taken off of work for fun!" She excitedly danced from her seat, and I started the boat.

"This is going to be a ton of fun, then!" I smiled, as we started to glide along. The radio blasted dance music that we shouted the lyrics of.

"I don't know why, I can still hear the annoying voice of Gu Junpyo." JanDi sighed, as I turned the music down. I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged her.

"See? You're thinking of him~" I teased, and she playfully hit me.

"Hey!" She defended. "Not like that! I just feel his presence from all the way over here." She pouted, and I grinned at her.

"The connection is really deep then." I winked, and she glared at me playfully, until a shadow casted over our boat.

"OH!" We both shouted, as we looked up, and saw Junpyo's huge ship over us, as our classmates laughed.

"I heard the witches went to sea. I didn't expect that you'd be here." Junpyo chucked, as Ginger, Sunny and Miranda pointed.

"Well, you should leave before we cast a death spell!" JanDi shouted, and Junpyo showed mock fear.

"See? All they need is a broomstick." He laughed, as the other classmates laughed along phonily. "Your boat will hold steady right? If it capsizes, I hope you can swim." He snottily grinned.

"And hopefully, your ship will crash into an iceberg." I deadpanned, as I stuck up my middle finger and sped off, Splashing everyone on the ship with water. I heard Ginger screaming in the distance and grinned.

JanDi huffed, and straightened out her bangs. "I hate him so much." She pouted, and I playfully rolled my eyes, only replying with a "Mhm."

#

When we made it to the deck, we were freezing cold clinging on to our jackets for dear life. "I need hot chocolate," I sang as my teeth chattered, and JanDi giggled as well. Everyone was waiting outside of the spacious hotel for our assurance that we could go in.

"I-Is that..?" JanDi asked, as I looked over and saw Seohyun and Jihoo together, locking arms. Seohyun was one of the most beautiful people in the entire world. Her skin glowed healthily, and her teeth were pearly-white. She always carried herself with grace and confidence; Something that I envied even when I was younger.

"Kim Sohee," Min Seohyun gleefully greeted, as she walked over to where I was. She greeted me with a warm hug as well. "You've gotten even prettier." She complimented, as she took a good look at me, and I gave a smile in return. As much as I envied her, she was the nicest woman that I've ever met, and we quickly became friends because of how beautiful of a person she was in the inside.

"It's so amazing to see you again, Seohyun-eonnie." I bowed. She smiled at the greeting and smiled at JanDi and I. Our greetings were cut short by Junpyo walking over to us, and we both had the instinct to glare.

"What now?" JanDi asked, and Junpyo chuckled at her attitude.

"I can tell you're very glad to meet me here." Junpyo smugly smirked, and JanDi showed false enthusiasm. 

"I was happy before I met you." She corrected, with a cheeky smile.

"Tell me, Weren't you bored in that cheap boat?" He asked, and I scoffed.

"It was the most fun I've ever had since I have this displeasure of meeting you." She glared, and he looked slightly fazed.

"There's going to be a party. As a student, you should come." Junpyo offered, and I raised my eyebrows. JanDi gave an angry glare, before stepping up to him.

"Why would you ever think that it was intention to go!?" She shouted, as Jihoo decided to step up towards us. I felt my hands feel clammy, and I quickly looked down at my feet. He stood in front of JanDi, who looked just as nervous. I looked at JanDi and him, and inwardly frowned.

"Seohyun is having a welcome back party. It'll be a lot of fun," He began, as he smiled at her. "You're going, right?" He asked, politely.

"Yes, I'll definitely go!" She replied quickly, slightly hypnotised. Junpyo outwardly looked as upset as I was in the inside. "Sohee, are you going too?" She asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I might not. I don't want to." I replied quickly, feeling heat go to my face. JanDi had a incredulous expression on her face when I said my reply as fast as I did.

"Why? What's the matter?" She asked, noticing my face was as red as ever, and I shrugged.

"It's not important. I promise." I said, as I gave a weak smile. JanDi frowned, and gave a whine.

"Please, go with me! I want you to go!" She frowned, throwing puppy-eyes at me. I looked at her face, and immediately sighed with a chuckle.

"Alright, I'll go." I gave in, as she happily hugged me. "I'll meet you at the party, hm? Knock at my hotel room door if you need me!" I cheered, as I went into the hotel doors.

#

When I walked into Seohyun's welcome party, it was the most formal party that I've seen in a long while. I even felt underdressed even though I wore one of the most formal dresses I could wear; A simple purple plum dress.

The first thing I did when I came in was look for JanDi. I saw Woobin sitting with Yijung instead of dancing, and I went over to them.

"1000 Won's friend seems to clean up very nicely." Woobin teased, as I rolled my eyes sassily. I scanned the dance floor for JanDi, and pouted.

"Have you guys seen JanDi?" I asked, as Woobin gave a curious glance at me.

"We thought you'd be with her." He shrugged, and I bit my lip, and sighed. I thought that she'd want to go to the party with me, but she never came to the hotel room.

Suddenly, we heard a crash near the food area. "Uh oh." I muttered, as I already had a bad feeling about this. I slowly walked over, anticipating the worst.

"So this is wonder-woman? Have all the compliments gotten to your head?" Ginger laughed at her petty comment. I pushed past them, and saw JanDi laying on the ground, with a wonder-woman costume on. The way that Ginger looked so smug made me realize that she had something to do with it.

I extended my hand, and JanDi graciously took it. A white jacket wrapped around her, and I looked up to see Jihoo helping as well. Seohyun regally walked over, in front of the crowd of people, who weren't anticipating that she would help.

"I know why you did this," She began, looking in Ginger's direction. "This proves how low you are, and not her." She finished, as Ginger angrily gasped, as we walked up, following Seohyun to her room.

* * *

Another chapter done! This chapter was a lot better than Chapter 1 because we're finally discovering more about our main characters~

Until my next chapter, loves~ Thank you so much for reading!

-BunniUnni


	3. Episode 3

-Gardenia-

-3-

#

I anxiously waited for JanDi to come out, and I began pacing without realizing, until I felt a hand grab onto my shoulder to stop me from pacing anymore. I looked over and saw Woobin holding onto my shoulder.

"Can you chill out? This is the 3rd time you've stepped on my shoe. She'll come out sooner or later." He reassured, and I covered my mouth as soon as I realized that I've been stepping on his shoes.

"I'm so sorry!" I gasped, as I bowed politely, and he chuckled, mocking my bow.

"It's no problem." He genuinely smiled.

JanDi finally walked down, in a light pink evening gown, and everyone around the staircase was completely astonished. She looked like an adorable princess. I looked around, and found Junpyo walking in, and looking completely amazed, as he approached her. I absentmindedly smiled, as I knew that he'd ask her to dance. Once I looked over again, I saw Jihoo walk over to her, and offer his hand for a dance, in which she shyly took.

I looked away quickly, and saw as Junpyo stormed out, obviously jealous. I sighed, and turned back to YiJung and Woobin's conversation. I shuffled uncomfortably, as they talked about something I couldn't focus on.

"So, are you having fun, Sohee?" Woobin asked, as I snapped out of my thoughts. I politely smiled, and shrugged.

"It's better than staying home and listening to music, I guess." I smiled, probably sounding like the most boring person in the entire world. I looked back at him, and he nodded. 'Start conversation and stop being such a party pooper' I cursed in my mind.

"Are you willing to have your feet stepped on by some killer high heels?" I joked, as I pointed to Ginger's stilettos. Woobin shuddered, and shook his head.

"The only thing I want to make contact with is that door," He began, and I laughed, joining along.

"The only thing I want to make contact with is some fun," I sighed, and he gave a chuckle.

"The only thing I want to make contact with is that girl," Yijung wiggled his brows, before making his way towards a foreigner with blonde hair and blue eyes. Woobin and I glanced at each other, before bursting out into laughter.

"Yijung will never change." We both said at the same time. As soon as the laughter died down, a comfortable silence took us over, as we watched the couples dancing. I saw Seohyun and Jihoo dancing and automatically looked at my shoes.

"Do you want to dance with me?" Woobin suddenly asked, and I looked up to see him holding his hand out for me to take. I realized in that moment that I've never really taken a good look at Song Woobin, though we were very much friends throughout our childhood. Woobin was usually the busiest out of the F4 members, and at times he'd go away for a while without explanation. From what I remembered, he was a good guy, though he'd also join in on the tiny pranks that the F4 would pull.

I nodded at him, and took his hand, which was very soft. "Thank you for offering, I was beginning to feel like a bit of an outcast." I joked, and he laughed at that. I mostly adverted away from eye-contact, because it made me completely nervous.

"So, how have you been lately?" Woobin suddenly asked, and I looked up to him. I smiled, and laughed, embarrassed. 

"Are you making small-talk with me Song Woobin?" I teased, as he raised his eyebrows, and gave a smug smile as soon as he saw that I was joking with him.

"What? Am I not entitled to?" He chuckled, and I shook my head playfully.

"We've barely talked to each other since middle school, and you're asking me this," I joked, as he chuckled.

"Are you going to answer the question?" He asked, and I realized that he was actually anticipating my answer, and not just making small talk. I smiled nervously, and looked up at him.

"I'm doing great, thank you for asking," I nodded, as he smiled. "How about y-" My next sentence was interrupted by a student bursting in.

"He fell in! Gu Junpyo fell into the water!" The student yelled, and I worriedly began running towards the pool. Junpyo isn't a strong swimmer at all, and swimming scares him to death.

I ran outside to find JanDi attempting CPR on him. She was completely soaked, and most likely jumped in to save him. I anxiously watched as JanDi cursed while trying to help him become conscious again. Once JanDi turned around for a brief second, I saw Junpyo's lips curve into a smirk, and I couldn't help but smile as well.

"That Junpyo is a very smooth guy," I whispered to Woobin, who was next to me, and he chuckled silently, agreeing with what I said.

JanDi attempted mouth to mouth, and Junpyo's eyes opened at the exact moment her's did. "W-What the hell!?" She shouted, quickly pushing him away. Junpyo began to laugh, while making kissy noises with his mouth. She fumed, and strongly swung at his face with her fist, punching him in the face. She got up, and stormed off, completely disgusted.

Junpyo looked at all of us, while giving a thumbs up, and I shook my head.

#

As soon as I walked into school, I walked towards the Performing Arts section of the building. The dance season just began once again, and I was more than happy to break in a new pair of dance shoes, and hopefully not break my leg like last season.

I listened to music on my phone on my way in, and noticed that it just snowed last night. I thought about how I should watch where I'm walking, but ironically I slipped because I ignored a piece of ice.

I felt as though my life was flashing before my eyes, even though I'd be completely okay if I fell over.

Two hands grabbed me by my sides and helped me up before I could make a fool out of myself. My heart began racing, and I let out a gasp, looking up at who just grabbed me up. Woobin made an army salute, as I took a sigh, and bowed politely.

"Thank you for helping me." I bowed. He grinned, and shrugged. 

"Anytime. Just watch where you're going next time, You don't want to fall for me so quickly." He

winked, and smugly grinned, and I shook my head, scoffing as I put my headphones into my bag.

"Oh!" He began, as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "I'm glad I saw you, because I meant to give you this!" He exclaimed, as he handed it to me.

"It's Seohyun's birthday party! You're going to be there, hm?" He smiled, as I playfully narrowed my eyes at him.

"First small talk, and now you're inviting me to parties?" I teased, as I raised my eyebrows, and he chuckled, throwing his hands up in defense. 

"Don't shoot the messenger," He defended, and I began to laugh.

"Of course I'll be at Seohyun's party." I smiled, and he returned the smile, and ruffled my hair.

"Good," He started, as he began to walk off, then he turned around. "Also, your flirting is very cute." He grinned, as he walked off.

"If you think that was flirting, you have a colorful imagination!" I scoffed. Once he was gone, I glared into his direction once more before huffing, and heading to my class.

#

Seohyun's party was thrown in a dimly-lit evening club. JanDi and I walked in with our elbows locked. Once we spotted the F4, JanDi was hesitant, and froze. She quickly hid behind me, mumbling about Junpyo.

"JanDi, remember you're here for Seohyun, and not that asshole!" I sighed, as I locked shoulders with her again, and JanDi pouted.

"You have me right here, and I promise that our fun won't be ruined by hi-" My promise was cut off by YiJung hastily approaching us.

"Jagiya, why are you late?" He loudly asked JanDi, as he grabbed her along to the F4 table. I cringed, and followed after.

Junpyo glared at JanDi as she came towards the table. "Why are you here?" He rudely asked, as JanDi cringed.

"Seohyun-eonnie invited me…" She trailed off, as Junpyo scanned her outfit. He scoffed, and shook his head.

"Did you rob Sohee's closet or something?" He snottily remarked, making me glare.

"She came late last time, but if you make JanDi up, she looks quite pretty," Woobin enthusiastically switched the subject, and I smiled at the kind gesture.

"She's the cutest one here yet again." Yijung commented as well, making JanDi shyly smile.

"Pretty?" Junpyo interrupted. "Drawing lines on a watermelon won't make it a pumpkin." He coldly shrugged, getting the idiom correct for the first time in forever.

"He actually got the idiom correct…" Woobin trailed off, and Yijung glanced too.

We were interrupted by cheering, and looked over to see Seohyun walking with her elbows locked with Jihoo. She wore a black dress, while he wore all white. They were the complete contrast of each other, and it was still perfect.

Once the beautiful cake was brought out, Jihoo pulled out his violin, and began to play a rendition of "Happy Birthday". Seohyun seemed touched by how many faces there were, and I noticed that she was becoming teary-eyed.

Once the music ended, and Seohyun blew out the candles, everyone wholeheartedly clapped for her, and she bowed gracefully.

"Thank you, everyone for coming here," She began, with a smile on her face. "Before we begin the celebration, though. I apologize but I have to make a big announcement." She said, looking genuinely apologetic. Everyone curiously looked over to her, as she began to speak.

"I will be succeeding on my own terms, and not by my parents. I have goals for bigger, and brighter things, and I will be moving to France for good." She said, as calmly as possible. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jihoo leave the room.

"It all makes sense now," Woobin whispered. "That's why he's been so down lately." He finished, as the party resumed, and Seohyun went up the staircase that Jihoo went up. I looked over to JanDi, who had tears brimming her eyes.

"I'll be right back," She quietly said, as she stood up to look for a restroom, I presumed. Junpyo immediately followed.

"So, I'm stuck with you two again." I crossed my arms, as I faced Woobin and Yijung.

"Trust me, I'm not too enthusiastic about it either," Yijung started, until he glanced over at the group of girls who were glaring at him.

"But anything is better than being murdered." He shuddered.

One of the girls stood up from the table, and she came over to our table, crossing her arms angrily. She suddenly grabbed Yijung to motion that they needed to talk.

"I guess I'm being hoisted away," Yijung cringed, as she pulled at his tie. We watched as Yijung was pulled away, and we playfully waved.

"Why is it that lately I'm always left to babysit you?" Woobin playfully muttered, and I playfully glared.

"I don't know about you," I started, getting a curious glance from Woobin, as I stared in the distance.

"But I came here for food, and from the looks of it, that cake is being used as decoration." I pouted, as the cake was completely untouched. Woobin chuckled at my reaction, and suddenly stood up.

"Then, follow me," He began, as he put his coat over my shoulders.

"It's going to be cold outside." He commented, and I stood up, completely confused about where he would take me.

Once we got to his car, he began to text something, and started his engine. While driving, he kept texting, and I began to glare at him.

"Hey!" I shouted, and he jumped.

"Jesus, what!?" He shouted in English, and noticed my glare.

"Keep your eyes on the road," I pouted. "As long as I'm in the car at least, you can drive recklessly on your own time." I glared, and he smirked.

"Try and stop me," He winked, as he started speeding, and I swore that I felt my stomach flip, as I shouted for him to stop playing.

#

"How much farther?" I complained, as we walked into a building. Woobin playfully glared, as we made our way towards the elevator.

"You were the one who wanted food, stop whining already, you child." He teased, as I puffed out my cheeks. As soon as he pressed the elevator button, my stomach began to drop, and I hesitantly walked towards the doors.

"W-we're taking the elevators..?" I stuttered, and he gave me a weird look.

"How else are are we supposed to go up 25 floors?" He asked, as I gulped. He noticed my reaction, and chuckled.

"Are you scared?" He asked, as we walked into the elevator. The doors closed, and I automatically felt my throat closing up.

"I'll hold your hand if you're scared." He winked, and I playfully hit him. As soon as the elevator began moving, I felt uneasy on my feet.

"In your dreams." I said, as I gained composure and crossed my arms. Woobin laughed for a second, and I looked over at him curiously.

"See? We're okay, Sohee! You did it!" He encouraged, as I realized that I'm actually okay. I smiled subconsciously.

"This isn't too bad!" I cheered, as the elevator came to a stop on the 25th floor. As soon as it opened, I ran out though. "Thank god I made it out alive!" I pouted, as Woobin shook his head and chuckled.

"You're so dramatic." He laughed, and I scrunched up my nose. I noticed that we were on the building's rooftop. I could see the entire city of Seoul from where we were standing.

"A rooftop?" I curiously asked, as he nodded, and pointed at a display. The closer we got, the more that I realized that it was a cool picnic type of set up. My eyes immediately brightened at the sight of the picnic basket, which most likely had food in it.

"This is too awesome!" I exclaimed as I sat down, and he smiled at my reaction.

"I needed time away from those 3 drama-causers," He chuckled, as he sat next to me. "And Yijung got dragged along before I could drag him along to this tiny after-party I threw." He shook his head, and looked at me, who was practically buried into the picnic basket.

"So I guess I'm stuck with a hungry, whiny child." He muttered to himself, but I could tell that he wanted me to hear it.

"That's how you treat your only party guest?" I glared, as I bit into some cake. He shrugged, as he took some food out of the basket for himself.

#

As we went back into the elevator when we were done, I felt a lot more calm about being in elevators already. We stood in silence for a few seconds, and then the elevator started going downwards. It was still a feeling that my stomach wasn't used to.

"We'll be fine, you child." Woobin reassured, noticing my nervousness. I shakily smiled back at him, and the elevator began to shake.

"Oh god, what is that?" I nervously asked, and even Woobin was confused. The elevator came to a stop, but we kept shaking. The engine to the elevator shut down, and we heard the engine hum come to a stop in the background.

"Oh! An Earthquake!" He panicked, and automatically covered me, as we waited for the shaking to stop.

The lights began to flicker, and finally they turned off, and we were in almost complete darkness. Once the shaking stopped, I shakily turned on my phone flashlight, and tried to call anyone really, because I was petrified. It was unsuccessful because there was no signal in the elevator.

"T-there's no signal," I stuttered, as I immediately began freaking out, and had to sit down. I hugged my knees and began to cry. I knew elevators were a terrible idea.

"Sohee, we'll be okay!" Woobin encouraged, as the sat down next to me.

"All we have to do is wait," He said, as he leaned over to take a look at my face.

"We aren't even moving, okay? We're safe!" He reassured, which was very sweet of him. I nodded, and puffed out my cheeks. I jumped when he poked one of my cheeks.

"Awwww look at you," He teased, and glared.

"Y'know, the offer to hold my hand is still open," He wiggled his brows, and I playfully swung at him as a sign for him to stop flirting.

I stopped abruptly as soon as I felt the elevator moving. I automatically grabbed onto Woobin for support, and let out a scream. I was practically buried into his chest, and gripping on for dear life. 'This is it, I'm gonna die.' I thought, as I started crying again.

Soon, I realized that the engine came back on, and we were on our way down. I calmed down quickly, but realized that I was still in Woobin's arms, and he was trying to calm me down. I quickly moved away from him, and wiped the tears away from my face. I looked down, and hugged my knees, muttering a quick "sorry". It was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen in my whole high school experience.

Woobin stood up, and offered his hand to help me up, which I took. I pouted, and we stayed in silence until we hit the first floor. I shakily walked out the elevator and wordlessly walked outside.

The car ride was still silent, as I kept a pout on my face. Woobin looked over at me, and grinned, as he pinched my cheek.

"Don't worry about it," He began, as he saw my reaction the whole ride back to my house. I looked up at him, and when I noticed that he was looking at me, I quickly looked away.

"H-hey! Keep your eyes on the road!" I said murmured, as I looked down.

As soon I noticed that we were at my house, I silently got out. Woobin parked, and wanted to make sure that I got in safely. I smiled at the kind gesture, and walked up to my front door. Before I unlocked the door to go in, I turned around, and bowed.

"Thank you for such an," I stopped for a moment, trying to think of the right adjective. "Adventurous night." I finished, with a smile on my face.

"I'm just glad that we got out of that elevator," Woobin began, about to laugh.

"If you held on to me any tighter, I would've choked." He teased, and I scoffed, and he laughed at my reaction, before ruffling my hair.

"It's alright though, you child," He smiled. "It's between you and me." He gave an army salute as he put an imaginary zip on his lips. I gave a smile, and did the same as I went into my house.

#

The alarm abruptly woke me up in the morning, to the point where I bumped my head on the wooden frame of my bed. I forgot to turn off the alarm because it was the weekend. I quickly opened my phone to realize that it wasn't my alarm, but my ringtone for Gu Junpyo. I contemplated not answering, until I realized that it could be about JanDi. Reluctantly, I answered.

"Hello?" I asked, completely foreign to how I would even answer the phone for such an asshole such as Junpyo.

"The old hag is coming back." Junpyo sounded exasperated, and slightly panicked. 'The old hag' was actually his mother, Mrs. Kang. He was completely afraid of her, and always invited me over when she visited because she apparently "likes me better". His mother had a voice and eyes that could intimidate mostly everyone.

"Give me one reason as to why I would help the likes of you," I sighed. I already knew that I would have to come over, but I might as well make him beg for my help while I'm at it.

"JanDi is here…" He trailed off, and I raised both of my eyebrows. I kept questioning why JanDi was over there in my mind, and what I could've missed last night.

"I'll be right over, dipshit." I rolled out of my blankets in defeat. I could hear Junpyo's sigh of relief on the other line.

"Hurry." Was all that he said before abruptly hanging up.

I sleepily closed my phone, and rolled to the other side of my bed while yawning, but I rolled a bit too fast and ended up face first on the ground, while making an 'Oof!' noise.

#

When I arrived to his brick mansion, I was automatically led in by the butlers towards the study-area. The entire house was hectic, as everyone was getting as much as they could together before Mrs. Kang arrived. I walked into the study, where Junpyo was pacing erratically, and JanDi peeped out from the corner, completely dressed up, to see that it was only me.

I gave a small wave, before quietly sitting down with her, and watching Junpyo's erratic pacing. My eyes wandered over to Jihoo, who was doing the exact same thing. Yijung was examining a globe out of boredom, and seemed completely uninterested with the new drama. My eyes adverted over to Woobin, who was already looking at me, and adverted his gaze elsewhere when I looked over. I tried my hardest not to grin at his childishness.

"So a commoner classmate named Geum JanDi is in my son's bedroom hungover, how would I react?" Yijung questioned, as he spun the globe that sat on the table next to him. This caught all of our attention, as we took a look at the globe.

"I bet 5,000 dollars that she'll send Junpyo to Alaska." Woobin joked, as he pointed to Alaska on the globe. Yijung contemplated it before shaking his head, and pointing to South Korea on the globe.

"I bet 7,000 dollars that she'll send Junpyo to the military." He gave an amused smirk, and sat on the couch. Jihoo took a look at the globe, then contemplated as well.

"I bet 10,000 dollars that she'll hire a hitman" Jihoo commented, smiling at the thought. JanDi gasped in awe.

"I-Is she really that harsh?" She asked, stammering over her words.

"Do you guys remember what happened when we escaped the class trip we had 6 years ago?" Woobin asked everyone who was there. I automatically laughed at the memory, and JanDi looked confused.

"Okay, I'll explain JanDi," I laughed.

"We went to a resort for the weekend to do camp activities as a 5th grade class," I began, and JanDi blinked, anticipating the rest of the story.

"Junpyo had the bright idea to run away during the camping games and just have fun on our own, considering the fact that we didn't like anyone else in our grade other than each other." I explained.

"Then…?" JanDi asked, completely into the story.

"Once we escaped, and went into the cabin of the resort, it wasn't even 10 minutes in when suddenly a S.W.A.T team burst in, picking us up, and covering our mouths!" I explained, and JanDi gasped.

All of a sudden, the door cracked, and we all froze, looking at the door. It was Mrs. Kang, who looked as though she was observing the entire environment. We immediately stood, and formally greeted as we bowed. She didn't reply to the polite greeting, and crossed her arms.

"Who is she?" Mrs. Kang asked, and JanDi shuffled uncomfortably under her gaze.

"It's none of your business." Junpyo interrupted, as his mother glared.

"She's a friend of mine." He tossed off coldly, and Mrs. Kang scoffed.

"As long as I pay for this house, she is my business." She defended, raising both of her eyebrows.

Jihoo swiftly came out of his seat, and wrapped his shoulder over JanDi's. "She's our friend." He remarked, as JanDi embarrassingly looked down.

"Oh, A friend?" Mrs. Kang curiously asked, as Yijung nodded.

"She's a Sophomore at Shinhwa. We let her join the F4 as a mascot because she's really cute." YiJing quickly stated, while smiling in a polite manner.

"Which family's daughter are you?" Mrs. Kang asked, as JanDi became noticeably nervous. I suddenly pinched her cheek, and laughed.

"Ah, I'm sorry about how nervous she is! She's my cousin, Choi JanDi!" I laughed. I used my uncle's surname to make it more believable. Mrs. Kang raised her eyebrows, and seemed slightly convinced.

"Are you interested in today's auction?" She suggested, as JanDi nervously nodded.

"It would be an honor!" JanDi bowed politely.

A security guard walked in, and bowed. "The guests are arriving." He announced.

"Thank you," Mrs. Kang began, before turning back to us.

"I expect to see everyone downstairs?" She smiled, as she gracefully exited.

As soon as she left, everyone took a sigh of relief. "Please, thank me later." I said, as I fanned myself.


	4. Episode 4

-Gardenia-

-4-

#

The airport was really quiet on a Sunday morning.

I glanced over to JanDi, who seemed very distraught. She looked into the distance, and gave a sigh. Junpyo was curious as well, having glanced over at her multiple times. He mocked her sigh, and spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"The luminosity of the F4 isn't enough to brighten up the black hole you are right now," He shook his head, and JanDi tearfully looked up, not even having enough strength to sass him.

"Can I ask you a question?" She suddenly asked him, as he gave her a weird look.

"If I say no, would you not say anything?" He asked, as he rolled his eyes.

"This isn't like you. I despise weak girls." He commented, and she spoke up.

"Do you think that it's better to shove away my feelings when you like somebody?" She asked, as I already knew who it was about as soon as she said it. I bit my lip, and looked at my shoes. I heard Junpyo scoff.

"Pushing away your feelings is as good as keeping a dead dog," He deadpanned.

"It's the same as ignoring how you feel. If the Earth caved in tomorrow, you wouldn't want to die of regret." He finished, and his words sunk into me as he said them. Though I knew that if I ever confessed that I liked Jihoo, it wouldn't have changed anything.

"You know," JanDi began, as I looked over at her. She looked over at Junpyo with a smile. "You aren't completely terrible." She finished, and they exchanged a smile.

Not too long after, Seohyun began to approach us gracefully. I looked around to truly notice that Jihoo was nowhere to be found. Seohyun began to notice as well, as she came over with her eyes scanning. Everyone stood up as we began saying our goodbyes.

Once she came over to hug me, I gave her a huge hug. "I hope that you stay safe, eonnie," I smiled, as she gave a tender smile back.

"Please, always visit me anytime." She offered, as I nodded enthusiastically, and she let out a small laugh.

She began to make her way to her terminal, and I couldn't help but notice her curious glances, and disappointed expression. As soon as she disappeared into the crowd, Yijung gave a sigh.

"It was really cold of Yoon Jihoo not to come," He said, as I looked over and nodded. Once he made the comment, Jihoo began to walk up to us, with a grin on his face.

"I'm sorry that I'm late," Jihoo commented, as JanDi angrily puffed out her cheeks while walking up to him.

"What are you doing!?" She scolded, much to our surprise.

"Why are you being so cowardly!? You can take this opportunity to go and follow her!" JanDi encouraged, as Jihoo let out a chuckle. He went into his bag, and pulled out a plane ticket, much to all of our surprise.

"I'm getting on the next flight." He simply said, and I noticed JanDi's expression become even more glum.

"Oh!" Woobin exclaimed, completely surprised. The guys all bunched together to playfully hit and scold him.

"What made you change your mind?" Yijung asked, taking the words out of my mouth. I could barely process everything that was going on at the moment.

"JanDi changed my mind." Jihoo smiled, as he walked over to JanDi. My hands became clammy, and I shifted uncomfortably as this happened.

"Because of you, I realized that I have to be honest. I'm glad I got to know a girl like you, and thank you," Jihoo commented, as he leaned in, and kissed JanDi on the forehead. I froze, and I could already feel myself turning red. Junpyo abruptly left the airport, and I just looked at JanDi's completely frozen body.

Absentmindedly, I began to walk away from the entire thing, thinking about how absolutely unlucky I was to even like Yoon Jihoo in the first place. I was stopped by an arm wrapping around my shoulder. I looked up to see Woobin with his arm around me, as he handed me something to drink.

"Oh, thank you!" I politely thanked, as I took the drink, and opened it. I absentmindedly looked over to Yijung to see him throw a thumbs up towards Woobin's direction, and I curiously looked at Woobin. He didn't notice that I caught on to that.

Woobin took a glance at me, and I looked at him. He didn't take his gaze away, and he looked right into my eyes. My heart sped up, and I blinked curiously, my nose scrunching up.

"What's with the staring?" I asked, and he chuckled, he put both arms on my shoulders, as he made me look straight into his eyes, as we stood face to face. I took my gaze away nervously. Eye contact wasn't something that I was strong at.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" He smoothly asked, as he smirked. I raised both of my eyebrows, surprised at the question. The notorious player at Shinhwa decided to ask me out on a date, and I genuinely thought that he was being nice, when it all must've been sweet talk.

"No." I quickly, and simply said, as he was taken aback by my quick response. I looked over at Yijung, who couldn't be more obvious about his staring, because his expression was surprised as well. I looked back at Woobin, and bit my lip apologetically.

"I'm sorry if the whole elevator thing made you misunderstand, but…" I began, as he was still amazed that he had been rejected.

"Honestly, I can't date a player. And, word around the school is that your nickname is "Lady Killer" for a reason." I pointed out, as he raised his eyebrows.

"No offense, but I really despise guys like that." I honestly commented, as I looked into his eyes, as I began to walk away.

"Kim Sohee," I heard Woobin call, as I turned over to him. His eyes were the coldest that I've ever seen since I've met him.

"Before you judge me as such a person, at least get to know me first." He stated coldly, as I seemed to have hit a nerve with my last statements.

"I don't want to know you in such a way because It's none of my business." I commented, as I respectfully bowed, and walked away from the embarrassing situation. I puffed out my cheeks as I thought about why he would even ask me to go on a date, though we hadn't spoken one word to each other until a few days ago.

' _It's probably a player's mentality,'_ I thought, as I came to the conclusion.

#

Once I walked into school with JanDi, every student buzzed around, whispering. Once a group of students spotted us, they began to run towards us, looking at JanDi expectantly.

"Is it true!?" A girl spoke up, and JanDi tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked, as she furrowed her brows.

"It's all over the school!" The student beamed.

"Is it true that you're dating Gu Junpyo!?" Another student asked curiously, as JanDi gave an incredulous expression. Before she could answer, Junpyo walked up to the crowd.

"Yes, It's true." He interrupted, as he walked up, and wrapped his arm around JanDi. She cringed, and pouted.

Students began to gasp, and run towards JanDi. Two students locked arms with her, and began to walk away, inviting her to parties and cruises. I looked over to the left of me and saw Oh Minji, who looked very visibly upset. I slowly walked towards her, completely concerned.

"Oh Minji," I trailed off, as she looked up at me tearfully.

"Are you alright?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"I feel sick," She began, as she sniffled.

"I'm going to go home." She bowed, as she quickly walked off.

JanDi quickly came back, bowing at students apologetically, as she locked arms with me. I pouted, as we began to walk with her to her class.

"I haven't seen Minji all day," JanDi pouted, on her way to class, and I puffed out my cheeks.

"She looked really sick this morning, so she went home," I explained, as JanDi gave me a concerned glance.

"Oh no," She frowned, and kept walking. She suddenly froze, and began to smile.

"We should visit her after school!" JanDi suggested, as I smiled at the good idea.

"We can drive over, and bring medicine!" I beamed, as she happily nodded.

#

JanDi and I began to drive over to Oh Minji's house, and JanDi held the medicine securely in her hand, letting out a huge smile.

"I'm just really happy that Minji and I are friends again," She beamed. I glanced over at her, and gave a half-hearted smile.

"I feel as though she should've stayed by your side," I began, and JanDi curiously looked over.

"I know you'd be there for her the whole way through if the roles were reversed." I pouted, and JanDi took a glance at me while sighing.

"She was only scared," She puffed out her cheeks, as she looked at the road.

"I think it was courageous of her to apologize!" JanDi finished, and I smiled at her optimism.

JanDi was a easily forgiving person. I learned that around the time of Seohyun's first party, where she forgave Ginger, Sunny and Miranda, and believed them when they said the party was a costume party. Something about that makes me want to protect her from everything that could possibly harm her in the world; She's just too trusting.

We were let into Minji's house, and looked in amazement. Minji's house was spacious, and very cute. It had a wooden theme of mahogany, and it looked straight out of a dollhouse.

After being led to her bedroom, JanDi knocked. We heard Minji say to come in, and walked in accordingly.

"Oh, Hello!" Minji gave a hesitant smile. She didn't look too thrilled to see us, but she politely greeted.

"We brought you medicine!" JanDi cheered, as she handed Minji the medicine. Minji gave a grateful smile, and put the medicine to the side.

JanDi sat down at her bedside, and let a comfortable silence take us over.

"A-are the rumors really true?" Minji suddenly asked, but it seemed as if she was hesitant to ask. JanDi smiled, and shook her head.

"They aren't true at all." She grinned, and Minji tilted her head in confusion. I curiously watched, wanting to know why she was so curious about Junpyo and JanDi.

"But, it seemed as though he liked you…" She trailed off nervously, and as soon as she said that, it hit me.

She likes Gu Junpyo.

That would explain why right after Junpyo confirmed that JanDi was his girlfriend, Minji suddenly felt sick.

"It isn't like that at all, don't worry." JanDi reassured, as Minji nervously laughed. There was a brief silence, until Minji smiled, and took her blankets off excitedly.

"I think I'm feeling a lot better!" Minji remarked, as I raised my eyebrow.

"I'll be right back! We should go out and have some fun!" She cheered, as she ran towards her closet.

I looked over to JanDi, who also seemed confused. She began to stand up, and pace around her room, and I decided to speak up.

"JanDi," I began, as she looked over to me.

"I have a bad feeling about Minji." I honestly said, as she let out a chuckle.

"Why? She's so sweet!" JanDi chuckled, and I bit my lip.

"I feel like Minji likes Gu Junpyo," I puffed my cheeks out, and JanDi laughed.

"I really doubt that," JanDi began, as she pulled out a book from Minji's shelf. She was about to say something else, until I recognized the logo on the yearbook. I furrowed my brows.

"That's Shinhwa's logo." I realized, and JanDi raised her eyebrows.

"Really?" She asked, as she looked at the year in the book.

"We would've been in Kindergarten by then!" JanDi gasped, and I furrowed my brows.

Suddenly, the yearbook was snatched from JanDi's hands. Minji looked entirely bewildered, as she clutched the yearbook close to her heart.

"Didn't you learn that it's rude to look through other's things!?" She shouted, as JanDi and I backed up.

She's really hiding something.

Once she realized how bewildered we looked, she gave a nervous smile as she put the book back in it's place.

"I-it's just that," She stuttered, and I tilted my head.

"I wrote something in there that I didn't want anyone to ever see," She scrambled through her words, as if it was an excuse. She then politely bowed.

"I'm sorry for my behavior." She apologized, and JanDi warmly smiled.

"Come on, we can all get ready together!" Minji cheered, as she grabbed us along with her.

#

I didn't think that the club would be a place that Minji frequents, but as we walked in, a lot of the bartenders, and workers seemed to know her by a name-basis.

Minji looked like a completely different person as she walked into the club. She looked a lot more confident, as if she was the best girl at the club. The more I looked at her, the more I felt as though I had a bad feeling about her.

When we walked off to a more quiet area, Minji gave a smile.

"Do you guys want to dance!?" She asked, over the loud music. I looked at JanDi, who shook her head.

"This is my first time being at a setting like this, so I'll just sit and watch." JanDi smiled, and I agreed.

"I'll watch her, because I don't want her to get lost." I commented with a smile. Minji sized me up for a moment, making me furrow my brows, as she let out a hesitant smile.

"Alright, suit yourself~" She playfully smiled, as she went towards the dance floor.

As we watched Minji dance, the music became a bit too loud for JanDi's ears, and I noticed her covering them.

"Do you want to see if we can go outside?" I asked, and she nodded, getting up.

As we walked by a corner, JanDi accidentally knocked over a case when I bumped into her. The case had a guitar in it. She panicked, and picked it up.

"You don't have to be so panicked over it," A male voice reassured. I looked over to see a man with a straight hairstyle. He gave a slight smile of reassurance, and I saw JanDi's face turn pink out of embarrassment.

"We're really sorry for knocking it over," I apologized, as I bowed. I quickly began to walk away with JanDi, but the guitarist began conversation.

"I could tell that you guys are trying to get some fresh air," He began, and I raised my eyebrows.

"If you want, I can show you where the outside area is, and I'll even play you two a song." He offered, and JanDi looked relieved.

"That would be awesome," She smiled, as she began to walk off with me before I could protest.

He led us up to a rooftop, that had lights dangling and a place to sit. I noticed that nobody was on the rooftop and presumably on the dance floor. I nervously bit my lip.

The guitarist began to play a song on his guitar. The song was soothing, and I could tell that he was really good at what he does. He looked over at us and gave a smile, as he finished the piece, and I politely smiled back, and clapped.

JanDi clapped as well, before downing her water bottle. She seemed tired, and deflated. I held on to her, and let her sit down for a moment, as I sat next to her.

The guitarist looked over in concern, as he took one of his unopened water bottles from the side of his stool, and offered it to JanDi, who graciously took it without hesitation. He also nodded the other water bottle towards me, and I politely took it, and bowed. I drank a generous amount of water before noticing it's odd taste.

"Thank you," She politely smiled, and took a few sips out of it.

The guitarist smiled, and wordlessly began playing another song. I quickly felt myself begin to sweat, and put two and two together.

We were drugged.

I tried to walk, only to feel as though the entire room was spinning. JanDi looked at me, completely concerned, and I realized that she didn't drink as much of the water as I did. JanDi began to feel the same feeling though, as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Slowly, but surely, I could feel my vision fading to black before I could even feel myself hit the ground as I fainted.

#

I jolted awake.

The dull pain at the back of my head made me cringe as I buried myself into the pillows. As soon as I felt pillows, I jumped up, only to see very unfamiliar surroundings.

Was I in a hotel room?

I looked down at my appearance and noticed that I only had on the long t-shirt I wore last night, and clothes scattered around. I immediately felt sick.

' _What did that guitarist do?'_ I thought, as I felt my heart speed up. I started assuming the worst, as soon as I saw what was written on the mirror in the lipstick I wore last night.

" _Thank you for the good time."_ Was vague enough for me to start panicking. Once I was about to scream however, I was beaten to the punch by another familiar voice screaming from the room next to me.

I found my pants immediately, and raced over to where JanDi was. I knocked on her door, and she hesitantly answered. When she saw my face, she was immediately thankful, as she hugged me tightly and began to sob.

"JanDi," I began, as she looked at me.

"We were definitely set up," I commented, as she wiped away her tears.

"Honestly, if this gets around school, then I know who set us up." I finished, as she curiously glanced at me.

#

Walking into school felt like suicide. I could already see the signs as we walked in, with our arms locked together. We walked over to the screen, and saw exactly what I knew we would see.

Photos of JanDi and I unconscious, and in the arms of a blurred faced man were all over the screen, and playing as a slideshow. It looked as if he had a 3-way with the both of us. The man was obviously smiling.

"Oh my god, there they are." Ginger's annoying voice rung through our ears. We turned around to her looking smug and satisfied, with her arms crossed.

"How could you put on such an innocent act and be so cheap?" Sunny asked, as Ginger laughed, her laugh resembling a witch.

"What's going on?"

Their taunting was interrupted by Gu Junpyo's voice. The trio of girls moved out of the way to give Junpyo a better look.

"Don't be fooled, look at this and come to your senses!" Ginger exclaimed dramatically, as Junpyo looked at the photo with a perplexed expression.

"Gu Junpyo," JanDi hesitantly began, as he looked over at her with pure anger.

"Please, listen to me. This is all a setup and I don't know what happened-" She was cut off by Junpyo's voice.

"Was this all you were?" Junpyo coolly tossed. I was even taken aback by what he was accusing.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," JanDi strongly began.

"If you really knew who I am, you would know that this isn't the truth." She finished, and Junpyo angrily grabbed her collar. That's where I drew the line and had to interrupt.

"Junpyo, please let go of her," I chided, as his expression darkened.

"Would you actually believe that we would do this?" I asked, as he glared straight into my eyes, and into my soul.

"Are you trying to imply that the girls in these photos aren't you?" He asked, as he let go of JanDi. I shook my head.

"Why would I deny the obvious?" I asked, as I crossed my arms.

"We were set up, Junpyo. " I finished, as he looked at the both of us.

"I don't think I know who you truly are anymore." Junpyo finished, as he glared at JanDi, and walked away.

JanDi looked as if her heart broke into a thousand pieces. I quickly locked arms with her again, and began to quickly walk away, ignoring the taunts that our classmates were making. I knew that I had to clear our names, and I might have an idea about who could help us.

#

Thankfully Yijung, Woobin, and JanDi's best friend, Gaeul offered to help as soon as we called. We stared at the photo, before taking a deep sigh out.

"Do you remember anything that happened last night?" Woobin asked, and JanDi and I glanced at each other.

"We went clubbing with a classmate. Once we wandered off, we found a guitarist who offered to show us where the club's rooftop was," I began, and Yijung raised his eyebrows.

"The last thing I remembered was realizing that the water we were offered was drugged, before blacking out." I sighed, and Woobin shook his head.

"You never take a drink from a stranger." He absentmindedly trailed off.

"Do you remember anything else?" Gaeul asked, as JanDi blinked.

"There was lipstick writing on my mirror! It was pink lipstick," JanDi began, as I interrupted.

"In my room, it was my color of lipstick," I thought aloud.

"Then, who had pink lipstick?" JanDi asked, as Woobin interrupted.

"That's weird then," He began, as we stared curiously.

"What man would walk around with pink lipstick?" He thought out loud.

"What classmate did you go with?" Yijung asked, and JanDi hesitantly sighed. I knew she didn't want Minji to get in trouble.

"Oh Minji." I spoke up, and JanDi bit her lip.

"I honestly believe that we were set up by her." I deadpanned, and Yijung shook his head.

"We don't have evidence to prove that," He explained. I looked closer at the photo, and saw something odd.

"Oh! He has a tattoo!" I exclaimed, pointing to it. Everyone curiously crowded the computer once again.

Woobin and Yijung glanced at each other, as though they were having a conversation with their minds. Woobin stood up with Yijung, and cleared his throat.

"Don't worry, buddies," He calmly said in English.

"Yijung and I will get to the bottom of it." He finished, and I grinned.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, as I gave a group hug to the both of them.

#

Walking from school the next day was the most painful thing. The entire school day was full of taunts, and catty pranks. It took all of my willpower not to punch someone in the face the entire day. I was entirely too feisty for this.

I walked out to my car, and almost broke down at the sight.

My car was completely destroyed, and vandalized. My windshields were smashed in, and the words "Fake", "Slut", "Trashy", and other vulgar words were spray painted all over the car. My mom's final gift she had given me was completely destroyed.

Before I could react, I felt something wet and slimy being dumped on my back. I cringed, as I turned around to see my classmates with egg, flour, and water balloons in their hands. They began to throw them at me, hitting me without missing.

I began to sprint across the school yard, only to be met by JanDi on the floor, with her knee covered in blood. A fire hydrant hose kept being sprayed at her, and I could tell that it hurt.

The hose turned to me, and the water blasted at my feet. I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, and cried out in pain as I couldn't support my ankle anymore, and hit the ground.

I immediately crawled over a few yards to cover JanDi so that they couldn't hurt her anymore. I didn't care if I got hurt, because I only wanted to protect my friend.

"I'm sorry." I heard her weakly whisper as she began to cry.


	5. Episode 5

-Gardenia-

-5-

#

I began to cough as the water hit us again.

It was well under 20 degrees* outside, and I began to shiver violently. JanDi attempted to stand up, only to be shot down again. I already felt as though I was going to faint.

I turned around when the hydrant suddenly stopped, and saw Junpyo, and the rest of the F4. Junpyo yelled at the assaulters, who seemed startled by his reaction. He began to throw punches at some guys who wanted to continue. The rest of the F4 began to join in, but Junpyo seemed the angriest.

I began to black out completely, as JanDi held me once she noticed that I seemed dizzy.

"Hang in there, Sohee," JanDi prayed, and I finally fainted.

#

I'm really sick of fainting.

I woke up in an unfamiliar setting once again, and sighed. I looked around the room I was in, only to realize that it was an expensive-looking apartment. I was in a very soft bed, and from where I was sitting, I could see the entire view of Seoul.

I looked down to see that I was dressed completely in new clothes, and they were pajamas that obviously belonged to a guy.

"Where am I?" I asked out loud, and a voice interrupted me.

"You're at my lovely apartment," Woobin winked, as he walked in from the kitchen area. He handed me a cup of tea, and I politely took it because I was still shivering. He also gave me a bowl of warm food, which I graciously took.

"Make sure to eat a lot," He offered, and he gave a smile.

"Even though your figure looks curvy, you were as light as a feather when I carried you." He chided, and I choked on my tea.

"You were looking at my body?" I glared, and he widened his eyes, throwing his hands up in defense.

"No, I promise!" He defended, clearing his throat.

"Even when you were being changed, I closed my eyes!" He genuinely said, and I still playfully glared as I threw a pillow at him, making him laugh.

"Why were you changing me, you pervert!" I scolded, as I hit him. He let out a laugh, and threw the pillow back, before motioning for me to eat. I began to eat, and happily indulged in the food.

"It was either I change your clothes, or you would be freezing," He pouted, and I laughed at the cute reaction.

Woobin thought for a second, as he began to take my hurt ankle from under the blankets. I cringed slightly, and he apologetically looked at me.

"Your ankle was also bruised up really badly," He began, as he began to inspect it, and I wiggled my ankle.

"The good part is that it isn't broken." He smiled, and so did I. I looked around for a moment, and realized that I was in his bedroom, and laying in his bed. The realization made my heart quicken unwillingly, and I tried to do everything in my power to stop that familiar feeling.

"Is JanDi alright?" I asked, as I puffed my cheeks out and looked down.

"Yes, she is," Woobin began, as he put a pillow under my foot.

"She's safe with Junpyo. We even managed to talk to Oh Minji. I don't think she'll be bothering you guys anymore." He genuinely said, and I gave a relieved smile.

I managed to look around again, and noticed how late at night it probably was. I had to have been asleep for quite a few hours. I also noticed how small the apartment was, as if it was only for one person. I then blinked in realization.

"Do you live alone?" I suddenly asked, and he nodded.

"My father was very harsh, and always wanted me to do everything he wanted to. One day, we got into an argument, and he said "Woobin"," He began, and I couldn't help but laugh at his impression of his own father.

"As long as you live in this house, you have to follow my rules," He imitated. I was completely interested in the story by now.

"So, I packed my things, and found a place of my own. My house, my rules." He finished, as he gave a shrug.

"That was really brave," I began, as I smiled at him. I looked out into space, thinking about how similar my family situation was.

"My stepfather is the most controlling man I know. After my mother passed," I began, as I scrunched my nose up. I didn't like opening up about my family, especially about my mother. Even JanDi doesn't know that she passed away.

"For as long as I could remember, he became the most cold-hearted man I know. He's nothing like how he was before. And nowadays, everything has to go his way." I finished, and Woobin looked as if he was sending pity my way.

"You don't have to feel bad," I insisted, and he immediately shook his head when he realized how prideful I was.

"Don't worry," He insisted as well, before standing up.

I thought about Woobin and I at our last encounter. His last words before this rang through my ears.

' _Before you judge me as such a person, at least get to know me first.'_

I looked up at him, as he looked out at the city. I realized that he wasn't trying to sweet-talk as I thought before: He was a genuine person. I still couldn't trust his player-mentality enough to go on a date with him, but I felt as though I owed him an apology.

"Song Woobin, you were right." I began, as he curiously looked over at me. As he looked into my eyes, I dodged away from eye contact.

"What am I right about?" He curiously asked. I gave a smile, and continued.

"I truthfully needed to get to know you before I judged you." I genuinely said, and he gave a satisfied smile. Though it didn't seem like an apology, I felt as though there was a friendlier atmosphere once I said that.

#

At school, photos of Oh Minji were plastered everywhere on the walls, and as JanDi and I approached the front area of the school, that had a flat-screen TV for news broadcasts, we were grouped around by students.

"Hee-yah!" I heard my nickname, as my wrist was pulled towards the TV. Ginger, Sunny and Miranda stood in front, near the TV.

"I can't believe someone this ugly would make you two feel so bad," Ginger phonily pouted, as she tried to act as concerned as possible.

"Has she no shame?" Miranda glared at the screen, as Sunny poked into the conversation.

"If I was that ugly I would've just killed myself to save my family the money," She laughed, as students behind us began to laugh as well. I had more than enough with their insults at Minji, and turned around.

"Your eyes, you got them done for your 16th birthday," I pointed to Sunny, who covered her eyes.

"Your nose, you got it done because your parents teased you for having a flat face," I pointed out, as Ginger covered her nose and pouted.

"And your teeth were done because you got teased from elementary all the way until middle school about them," I pointed to Miranda, who scrunched her face up.

"Every single thing on you has been altered with some kind of money, yet you have the audacity to single out Oh Minji because she got caught. The ones who have no shame are you three." I commented, as JanDi stepped in front of me.

"Is it wrong to have plastic surgery? Why is it okay to make a pretty person prettier but an ugly person prettier?" She asked. Everyone shamefully looked down.

The two of us walked away, but we were blocked from walking up the staircase by Oh Minji. As soon as I saw JanDi's glare, I respectfully backed up.

"I won't ask for forgiveness," Minji simply said, as JanDi glared. There was a silence, until JanDi suddenly gave Minji a harsh slap in the face. Minji looked as though she was expecting it, as she tearfully blinked, and looked at JanDi again.

"And, I won't say that I'm sorry, either." Minji finished, earning her another harsh slap in the face.

"It's sad that your deluded mind would ever think that I would forgive you." JanDi emotionlessly stated, as she grabbed my wrist, and led me up the staircase.

I knew that it would be the last time I would ever see Oh Minji again.

#

As lunchtime approached, I completely lost JanDi. Our usual joking around at this time was missing, and I pouted because I realized how lonely I'd be if she wasn't at Shinhwa.

Suddenly, Junpyo began to walk down the staircase. He gained the attention of everyone by whistling loudly. I was the last person to get up, the reason being that he had JanDi wrapped around his arms.

"Attention, students on Shinhwa." He calmly exclaimed, making the crowd go silent.

"On behalf of the F4, I now declare Geum JanDi to be Gu Junpyo's girlfriend." Junpyo happily cheered, as everyone in the crowd became immensely surprised.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that someone collapsed, and I looked to see that Ginger had dramatically fainted. I couldn't help but silently laugh at her.

I smiled, and walked up to JanDi, who seemed even more surprised at the news than anyone else.

"I told you that Junpyo really likes you," I knowingly teased, as JanDi embarrassingly hid.

"From now on, if you do anything to JanDi, it will be a direct hit to Gu Junpyo, you got it?" He asked, as he slung his arm over JanDi once more.

"There's an objection to this." A familiar voice playfully called out. I looked up in absolute disbelief.

Yoon Jihoo had returned.

"I'm back." Jihoo waved, as I looked at JanDi, who also had a perplexed expression on her face.

#

I didn't know what was worse: Being attacked by classmates or suddenly having them chase you in admiration.

Once the news about JanDi got around school, students grouped around us to the point where we barely saw each other. I even got requests to date random male students who obviously only wanted to get closer to the F4 so they could gloat about it.

As soon as I walked into school, a group of students began to group over at me. I smiled, and hesitantly bowed.

"Hee-yah, come to my father's Yatch party,"

"Hee-yah, Today's my birthday! Come to my party tonight!"

"Hee-yah, I'll take you over to my family's club tonight!"

As offers were being flung to me left and right, I slowly became frustrated. I immediately snapped, and thought of something that would throw them off.

"JanDi and Junpyo are inside of the corridor! I just saw them!" I shouted, as their attention diverted towards the corridor, and they began to run towards it. I took a deep breath out, as I began to run towards the abandoned corridor that was being renovated. I didn't even care about the stinging in my ankle, as long as I got away from them.

As soon as I made it, I took a pained deep breath out, as I sat down. There was only so much that my ankle could take.

"I'd rather take being bullied than this." I whispered, as I held my ankle.

"I guess being loud up here is old, huh?" The familiar voice of Jihoo startled me. My body froze, as I turned around towards him.

"Oh," I began, as I stood up. A pained expression painted across my face as I bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Yoon Jihoo-sunbaenim!" I politely bowed.

"Old habits are weird," He began, as he leaned on the brick pillar.

"This place looks exactly the same, but it's awkwardly quiet." He said, and I began to giggle, albeit a bit more than I had to. I suddenly stopped when I realized, and pretended that I was normal for once.

"When are you returning to France?" I curiously asked, as he smiled. Just his smile was enough for me to feel my entire face begin to burn up, and as soon as he looked over, I looked away so he wouldn't notice.

"I'm not going back." He genuinely stated, as I began to look over at him. His face had no regret painted on to it.

"Are JanDi and Junpyo really dating?" He curiously asked, and I blinked at the sudden question.

"I'm not too sure. They seem to really like each other, though." I commented, as I began to smile while thinking about how adorable they were together. Jihoo looked over at me, and curiously tilted his head.

"Since they're together, am I one step too late for you as well?" He suddenly asked, with his expression turning into a smirk. I furrowed my brows, thinking that I didn't hear correctly. My heart had completely stopped by now, noticing that he was looking at me and only me.

"I'm sorry, I think I spaced out. What did you say?" I asked, unsure if that question was real.

"I've noticed how cute you were since middle school. I was going to ask if you wanted to date me." He asked, and I rapidly cleared my throat. Life felt entirely surreal.

"Really?" I asked, my voice hopping up 5 octaves. I tried not to sound too desperate or hopeful as I said it, but my voice could only squeak out that question.

Jihoo looked at my reaction, as he began to laugh. I furrowed my brows, as I began to turn red in embarrassment.

"Hey, what's so funny?" I quickly defended, as I nervously gave my hair a toss.

"I was only joking." He laughed, and I turned even redder, if possible. I let out a quick "Oh." before mentally wishing that the floor would swallow me up and I could keep falling until I reached hell.

"But, would you have actually considered it, Tomato?" He asked, referring to how red I looked, as he ruffled my hair and walked away.

' _He completely just played with my emotions without realizing.'_ I thought, and as soon as I realized that he was gone, I let out a groan.

#

After school, I began to clean up the dance area. As long as my ankle was injured, I was in charge of cleaning up the dance room after-hours. I wasn't too fond of it, but it was the only contribution I could make.

I had to stop every few minutes, because of the pain in my ankle though. I threw the broom down in frustration, as I stopped and sat down. I cursed myself silently, and held my ankle.

Suddenly, I heard the doors open. I looked over to see Woobin, who looked panicked. I stood up, and tilted my head in confusion.

"What's up?" I asked curiously. He suddenly grabbed my wrist, and began to walk.

"It's about JanDi, it's an emergency! Come with me!" He shouted, and I began to panic, not even caring about my ankle pain. He opened the passenger's seat to his sports car, and as soon as we buckled up our seat belts, he began to drive off.

"What's the matter with JanDi?" I asked, as his eyes were focused on the road.

"Junpyo didn't say, but he told me to get to the airport quickly." Woobin stated, as confusion struck in my head.

As soon as we made it to the airport, it didn't take me long before I realized what was actually happening.

As soon as I got into the terminal, I was led to first class. Junpyo sat smugly in the plane, as JanDi looked as utterly confused as I was. I noticed that the F4, as well as JanDi and Gaeul were also in first class.

"Guys," Junpyo began as he stood, getting all of our attention.

"We're going to Cambodia!" Junpyo cheered, and so did the rest of the F4.

"I'm going to be stuck with you losers for a weekend?" I joked at the F4, and Gaeul let out a laugh. Woobin wrapped his arm around me. I glared playfully, and swatted his arm away.

"It won't be too bad, you child. Now stop complaining." He laughed, as he offered me the seat next to him, and I graciously sat down next to him.

The flight attendant began to announce that the plain would take off in 10 minutes, and I put on my seat belt, and pouted. I hated airplanes as much as I hated it elevators. Anything that was high up gave me an uneasy feeling. My hands began to shake, and I signed.

"Are you alright?" Woobin asked when he noticed how shaky my hands were, and I gave a weak smile, and a nod.

"I'm alright, it's just that…" I trailed off, and began to pout, completely embarrassed by the reasoning.

"I'm a bit afraid of airplanes." I finally said, and Woobin gave a small laugh.

"I expected as much, which was why I wanted you to sit next to me." He smiled, and I nervously smiled back.

The takeoff was the hardest part of the airplane for me, and I began to shake even more than before. I felt my hand being grabbed, and looked over to Woobin, who held my hands because they were shaking a lot.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay," Woobin reassured, as he held my hands, and I couldn't be more grateful for that gesture.

Once we were in the air, I still felt weird, but it wasn't as bad of a feeling.

"How is your ankle?" Woobin suddenly asked, trying to get my mind away from being on the plane.

"It still hurts to walk on it for a long time, and when I went to the doctors, they said that I might not be able to dance without discomfort ever again." I shrugged, as I looked at my ankle. The bruising began to clear, and it didn't look as terrible.

"That really sucks," He commented, as I began to see a pout on his face.

"Luckily I don't dance as if I want to do it as a career anymore, so it's no big deal." I smiled, but on the inside I still felt disappointment.

"Why did you ever stop dancing competitively?" Woobin asked, and I looked down when he asked.

"It's just that…" I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence because it gave me bad memories.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," He reassured, as he noticed my pained expression. I almost gave a sigh of relief. I looked down to notice that my hands were still being held and it made my heart do the familiar feeling that it did earlier. I had to shake the feeling off, and fast.

"I'm not that nervous anymore." I laughed, and he noticed our arms still intertwined. He let out a noise of realization, and let go immediately.

#

"We're here!" I heard Yijung yell out, and I immediately jolted awake. I noticed that Woobin and I fell asleep while listening to music together, and I took out the earbud that I was listening to music with.

"Hey," I began, and I tapped him. He turned over, muttering "Five more minutes."

"If I give you five more minutes, we'll leave without you," I glared, and he immediately jolted awake.

The island was completely beautiful. In Seoul, we weren't near an ocean, let alone palm trees, and an entire sandy beach.

"Hey!" Woobin and Yijung greeted in English, as they saw two foreigners in bikinis who automatically recognized them. They hugged the girls, and slung their arms around the girls' waists. The gesture made my heart feel a flip floppy feeling once I saw Woobin, and I immediately coughed slightly, trying to ignore the feeling.

JanDi and Gaeul were obviously weak at English, as all they could do was wave and smile. I joined in, because I didn't want to seem rude.

Walking around the island was the best sight in the world. Gaeul snapped numerous photos of us trying on clothes, and kissing each other on the cheek. It felt so good to get away from the F4 for at least a temporary while, because I needed to get rid of the feeling I felt in my heart that's been appearing ever since Woobin and I became a lot more friendlier.

As soon as we walked out from a clothing store, I immediately bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," I immediately bowed, though I apologized in English. JanDi and Gaeul walked into another store and didn't notice that I stayed behind. I looked up to the stranger, and automatically furrowed my brows, my entire expression hardening.

"Jung Hyunki," I stated, making it come out more like a question. The name sounded foreign to me, because I haven't said it in so long.

"Kim Sohee," He mocked my surprised expression, as he gave a smirk.


	6. Episode 6

-Gardenia-

-6-

#

"Why are you here?" Hyunki asked, and I raised both of my brows.

Why would he even care?

"I'm on a weekend vacation with a few friends," I remarked, and there was a quick silence.

"You know," Hyunki commented, as he began to give me a good look.

"It seems that as soon as we broke up, you became very curvy," He sneered, and I crossed my arms, giving him a glare.

"It sucks, when we were together, you were a literal twig." He finished, and I immediately began to walk off.

"Hey," Hyunki slightly whined, as he caught up to me. I cringed about how absolutely bratty he was, and began to regret giving the likes of him a chance.

"I was thinking about you a lot though," Hyunki commented, and I continued to walk. I wasn't trying to hear that.

"That's funny, because I wasn't." I simply sassed, and Hyunki acted as if he got shot in the heart.

"Come on, ice queen, you're telling me that you've never thought about your first love even once?" Hyunki playfully teased, and I laughed, automatically giving him a look as if I were to say ' _Are you serious?'_

"When you find out about how much of an asshole someone is, it really helps you get over them." I remarked awkwardly, as I began to walk faster.

Hyunki suddenly grabbed my wrist, and I looked back as if to say ' _What do you want now?'._

Suddenly, an arm slung over my shoulders. I looked up to see Woobin, who automatically winked when he saw my reaction.

"Honey~ is he bothering you?" He asked, and I shook my head, as I got out of Hyunki's grasp.

"Not at all, I was just walking away actually." I remarked. Hyunki's expression seemed surprised, until he realized who Woobin was. Woobin seemed to realize as well, because his expression began to harden.

"Song Woobin? You're dating this F4 loser?" He laughed, and I automatically became entirely confused.

"Do you two know each other?" I asked, genuinely confused, and Hyunki let out a laugh in response.

"When I asked if he could introduce me to some better girls because you were such a twig, he punched me square in the jaw." He finished, and I raised both of my brows. I snapped out of it, returning that comment with a glare.

"You deserved it, you asshole," I defended, as I began to walk away from such an embarrassing situation.

Woobin quickly caught up to me, and began to wordlessly walk with me. He knew that I was obviously upset.

"We're you on your way to the beach?" Woobin asked, trying to change the subject. I quickly shook my head.

"I was shopping with JanDi and Gaeul but I lost them as soon as I met up with Mr. Asshole." I pouted, and crossed my arms once again.

"They might've went to the beach, everyone is meeting up there." Woobin confirmed, and I nodded, following where he was going.

"I have a question though," Woobin began, and I curiously looked up at him.

"Why was Hyunki such an asshole towards you?" Woobin asked, and my face automatically twisted up.

"Back when I was a dancer," I began, as it felt like 1000 needles stuck into me with every word I enunciated. My entire face probably looked as if I ate a lemon.

"I didn't have much of an _amazing_ relationship with food," I commented, as I began to look down at my shoes.

"There would even be times where I would refuse to eat for days at a time, and I would only eat just because I wouldn't pass out, because I wasn't as easily thin as my peers. Especially when I was just beginning to develop more like a teenager," I stated, as I felt as though my voice was becoming a lot more silent with every word I said. I couldn't even look up, because talking alone felt painful for me.

"So, as a result I was really thin, and," I felt even more pain as I stalled with the conversation, I quickly looked up to see Woobin looking as though he was patiently waiting for me to continue what I was saying, and he didn't seem as though he wanted me to hurry up.

"Shortly after Hyunki and I got together around that time, we were gonna, _yknow_ ," I implied, as I became absolutely disgusted, and my face scrunched up even more than before.

' _Just shoot me now,'_ I thought, as I cleared my throat.

"And I'm very glad that we didn't, because he took one look at my body and absolutely thought I was gross and didn't want to continue." I shrugged, as I looked up and gave Woobin an uneasy smile.

"After that, my body image got much worse, and I literally couldn't eat, and when I did, it made me sick to the point where I had to quit dance for a while." I sighed, as I puffed out my cheeks, and my walking came to a stop.

"I didn't know that you were dealing with that much," Woobin commented, as I gave a shrug, and a smile. He looked completely concerned, as if he was trying to think back to the year.

"I never wanted anyone to know," I simply said, with an apologetic smile, as I began to walk again.

"My step-father doesn't even know. The only person who knew was my mom." I finished. Woobin kept silent, as we caught up with everyone else at the beach

"Sohee!" JanDi shouted, as she ran up to me.

"Gaeul and I completely lost you," She commented, until she noticed my expression. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you alright?" She asked, and I gave a smile in return, as I nodded.

"I'm alright, I just ran into somebody unexpected." I simply forced a smile, and sat down on one of the lawn chairs.

As soon as I saw JanDi run into the water, I immediately pouted. My ankle was too bad for me to fully enjoy swimming, and I'd have to sit at the most shallow part of the ocean.

The sun was beginning to burn my back, and I cringed, reaching for sunscreen immediately. I would mind a tan, but my skin burns under the sun. Once I began to put it on, I felt the bottle get taken from my hands, and I looked up at the culprit.

"Do you need any help?" Woobin asked, and I gave a grateful smile.

"Thank you," I smiled, as I nodded, and he looked as though he was incredibly happy. While he applied the sunscreen to my back, he attempted to give my back a massage, and I laughed at the cute attempt.

"JanDi?" Gaeul shouted, as she looked out to shore. I realized that JanDi had been in the water for a very long while, and began to call out for her as well.

"Geum JanDi!" I shouted, and looked into the distance, where JanDi was nowhere to be found. I stood up, and began to walk out into the water, with Gaeul following behind.

"JanDi, stop playing!" Gaeul shouted, until she realized that JanDi was flailing into the water, as if she got a leg cramp.

"JanDi!" Gaeul shouted, waking everyone up.

"Oh, what do I do!?" Gaeul began to cry, as she panicked. Junpyo began to run over, but quickly hesitated.

Without hesitation, I took off my sundress, exposing my swimsuit, and I quickly handed it to Gaeul. I automatically jumped in towards JanDi to try and save her.

My ankle was in absolute pain, but I didn't care one bit.

I was able to pull her up from the water, but my ankle felt as though it would give in if I tried to drag her to shore. She was completely unconscious, and the weight didn't make it feel any better.

"A little help over here, please," I struggled, as I held her up. Jihoo quickly ran over, and carried JanDi to safety on a lawnchair. I rushed back to shore, as everyone circled around her.

"JanDi, please wake up." Gaeul prayed, as she began to cry.

JanDi let out a cough, and everyone let out a relieved sigh. Yijung gave me a reassuring pat on the back, and I let out a smile.

Junpyo hurriedly began to walk off, as I heard him mutter numerous curse words to himself. I knew that he was being hard on himself because he wasn't able to save JanDi. I inwardly began to frown for him. I felt bad because I knew how his actions can come off as misunderstood at times, and he wasn't as terrible of a guy that I judged him as. It was now only up to JanDi to learn the same.

As JanDi looked into Junpyo's direction, Yijung began to talk.

"When Junpyo was younger, we had a pool party with just the 4 of us, as well as Junpyo's sister," Yijung began, and JanDi looked up at him.

"When we became distracted, Junpyo fell into the pool without knowing how to swim. When he called out for us, no one realized, until Junpyo's sister jumped into the pool to get him out." Yijung finished, and JanDi felt a sense of understanding towards Junpyo.

"Ever since, Junpyo has been completely afraid of swimming, and freezes up." WooBin commented, and I nodded in return.

"If Junpyo could've saved you, he would've." I remarked, and JanDi hesitantly nodded, as she began to walk off. Gaeul immediately followed, handing me back my sundress, as she ran after her.

I put the sundress on hurriedly, because I didn't really like how my body looked in swimsuits, and let out a sigh, as I sat down on a lawnchair.

#

"I'm absolutely starving," I unintentionally whined, as we approached the dining area nearest to the shore.

"Quit complaining, you baby, we're going to eat in a few minutes." Woobin teased, and my eyes narrowed, as my nose scrunched up at him.

Once we arrived to the dining area, a table was set for 2, and another table was set for at least 6 people to sit at. Food decorated the table, and I felt my heart feel pure happiness.

"Food~" I lovingly said, as I gave a dreamy sigh.

"I prepared this for everyone." Junpyo smiled, and Yijung gave a playful scoff.

"It looks as if you prepared it for a special somebody," He commented, as Junpyo gave him a playful hit.

"What does that matter? It looks delicious!" Woobin exclaimed, and I gave an enthusiastic smile and a nod.

We quickly sat down at the table and began to eat. As much as I loved food, I didn't want to seem like I ate too much, especially in the presence of my friends.

Woobin seemed to notice my discomfort because he wordlessly put more food on the plate that I had. I began to turn red, because it was as if I didn't have to say anything, yet he knew how I felt. I gave him an embarrassed smile in return.

Jihoo wordlessly stood, not having eaten anything, and began to walk away. Everyone watched as he walked, and it was as if his mood completely plummeted. I began to frown, but stopped when I noticed it was becoming visible.

JanDi quickly stood up to go after him, and I immediately felt my heart sink. I could only look down at my food and begin to eat.

Fireworks began to spread across the sky, making various shapes. The loudness frightened me at first, but as they went on, they became a lot more calming.

"So awesome!" I smiled up at Woobin, who was already looking down at me and smiling, and my heart began to feel the familiar feeling that I wanted to shake off as soon as possible.

Once the fireworks began to settle, I tried my hardest not to take glances at Woobin from the corner of my eye, but he decided to start a conversation.

"Hey," He started, and I curiously looked over, replying with a simple "Hm?". We began to walk towards the hotel rooms, and away from the others.

"Is this yours?" He asked, as he pulled out a beaded necklace from his pocket. I shook my head, not recognizing the piece of jewelry.

"I know, because I'm giving it to you," He began, and I raised both of my eyebrows.

"First you invite me places, then you ask me out, and now this?" I teasingly asked, while laughing, and his eyes widened.

"Don't take it the wrong way! You made today very interesting. It would've been boring if I spent it with an overly-tan blonde girl. That's more Yijung's type." He smiled, and I returned the smile, while giving a polite bow.

"Thank you so much," I thanked, and he gave a smile before leaning towards me. My face began to heat up, as I felt my heart rate increase. I was about to ask what he was doing, until I realized that he was only putting the necklace on my neck.

"Do you want to know why I punched Hyunki in the face before High School?" Woobin asked, and I curiously nodded my head. He gave an embarrassed laugh before continuing.

"Because, he was completely stupid to let such a great girl like you go to waste, and the way he spoke of you made me want to punch him as hard as I could, because you're worth much more than your looks or body." He simply stated, and the statement made me feel a warm and fuzzy feeling that a romantic movie would give you.

"That was very sweet of you," Was all I could say to the comment, and I inwardly cringed at my inability to express anything. Woobin didn't seem to mind, because he gave a smile, and ruffled my hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, before walking towards his room.

I quickly went into my room, and took a breath out. I had to calm the feeling that I felt deep in my heart.I took a frustrated sigh as I collapsed onto the bed.

"This isn't good." I pouted, referring to how I was feeling at the moment.

#

I woke up late the next morning, and walked out to see everyone already awake, and the F4 playing a game of Volleyball. JanDi and Gaeul were laughing while sitting at the sidelines. I joined them, sitting next to JanDi, and tiredly yawned. She slightly jumped at my presence before realizing that it was just me.

"You're finally awake!" JanDi acknowledged, giving me a big hug. I gave a smile, and immediately hugged her as well.

"Good morning guys!" I greeted, only able to squint because I was still very tired. I was definitely _not_ a morning person. JanDi began to laugh, and Gaeul joined in, as if she just realized something.

"It's 3 in the afternoon!" JanDi laughed, and my eyes widened in realization.

"Oh my god, why didn't anyone wake me up?" I pouted, and JanDi and Gaeul looked at each other.

"Someone told us to let you get your sleep." Gaeul let out a smile when she said it, and I scrunched my nose up in curiosity.

I looked over at Junpyo, who looked distracted for the whole game. It was as if he was looking at Jihoo from the corner of his eye, and something on Jihoo was distracting him.

Suddenly, Junpyo got hit in the face with the ball, and Woobin cringed, while giving an apologetic look. He obviously didn't mean to hit him in the face, and Junpyo just wasn't paying attention.

Junpyo's nose began to bleed, and the F4 and I immediately began to rush over. Jihoo stood away from Junpyo, making me immensely curious.

"I'm fine, I'm alright." Junpyo immediately swatted us away, as he stumbled to his room.

"Does anyone know what's wrong with him? He was acting weird." I trailed off, and Woobin and Yijung shrugged, making me nod.

JanDi and Gaeul came over to attempt to play Volleyball, and it was possibly one of the cutest attempts ever. I sat at the shoreline completely tired, and I had to do something to at least wake me up a little.

I began to walk towards the shallow part of the ocean. I took off my sundress because I had a swim suit underneath, and sat down so that the gentle waves could flow onto my legs.

"You can stop following me, y'know," I playfully commented, as I felt a presence behind me. I turned around to see Woobin, who looked surprised that I didn't even have to turn around to know it was him.

He sat next to me, and I gave a playful glare.

"I didn't want you to drown like JanDi did. Your ankle is still injured." He pointed out, while returning the playful glare.

"Thank you for looking out for my well being, Dr. Song." I sarcastically remarked, with a friendly smile painted on to my face.

I began to walk into the water, and sat down at deeper section. The water almost reached my chin, and I saw Woobin glance over, concerned. I returned it with a smile, and leaned back to float.

He walked over to join me, and floated as well. I mischievously looked over, and splashed him with water, making him sit up and glare playfully

"Hey!" He snapped, and he splashed me back, making me gasp and immediately splash him back.

The splash war lasted until we noticed the sunset, and the water was beginning to feel a lot colder than before. I stood and began to shiver. Woobin noticed, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, making me give a thankful smile.

We caught up with the others, and Yijung looked slightly panicked.

"What's wrong?" Woobin asked, making Yijung turn to us.

"Jihoo is in a bit of a dilemma," Yijung began, and his name made my heart drop.

"Oh no, is he alright?" I asked, trying not to look or sound as concerned as I actually was.

"Seohyun is going to marry the next Prime Minister of France. Apparently Jihoo knew before he went after her," Yijung sighed, and I looked over at JanDi, whose eyes were at the brim with tears.

"His luggage is still in his room but I haven't seen him all day." Yijung finished, and I gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I think he'll be alright," I encouraged, with a slight smile.

"I think that if everyone gets some sleep, things will be a bit better in the morning!" I smiled, and everyone playfully groaned at me.

"Says the girl who slept until 3pm!" JanDi teased, as she threw a towel towards me.

#

I couldn't sleep at all.

After tossing and turning, I decided to just walk out of my room, sit at the balcony, and listen to music.

As soon as I walked towards the balcony, I froze and hid in my seat when I realized what was happening below the balcony and towards the shoreline.

I saw JanDi and Jihoo having a conversation together, and they both looked completely upset. I was too far to know what they were talking about, but I knew that it was obviously about Seohyun.

While they were talking, Junpyo began to approach, and what happened afterwards made me feel as though my heart received a fatal blow.

Jihoo leaned towards JanDi, and kissed her on the lips. I automatically looked down, and couldn't look anymore, until I realized that Junpyo punched Jihoo square in the jaw.

I watched as the group began to disperse, and I couldn't stop stupid tears from falling. It was as if I wasted all this time liking Jihoo only for him to not even know, and only to be disappointed.

JanDi didn't even know how absolutely special she really was.

"Were you spying on us?" I heard a familiar voice ask, as I abruptly turned around to see Jihoo sitting on the chair parallel to mine. I quickly wiped my eyes, and let out a dismissive laugh.

"I just came here a few seconds ago because I couldn't sleep." I lied, as I gave a light smile, and he curiously looked at me. My face began to heat up, as we sat in complete silence for a few moments.

"Can I ask a question?" Jihoo suddenly asked, and I turned to him, with my heart beginning to feel as though it would pound out of my chest. I gave a nod, and he began to talk again.

"What do I do when I'm completely unsure of my feelings?" He asked, and I felt as though my heart took another fatal blow, if possible.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to find the context to answer the question. I hugged my knees in the process.

"I spent my time chasing after Seohyun only to realize that I wasn't even sure if it was love I felt anymore, and I still feel unsure." He finished, and it took all of my power not to raise my eyebrows, or snap at him for kissing JanDi while he was unsure. It was as if he played with her feelings. I completely cleared my throat, trying to hide the feeling.

"Finding something that you love it makes your heart do...a thing-" I began, trying to lighten the mood, before Jihoo interrupted.

"A thing?" Jihoo echoed, slightly chuckling at my vague answer, and I quickly nodded, before glancing at him shortly.

"It makes your heart quicken, it makes your day brighter, and it makes you feel as though you can conquer the world as long as you have the thing you love." I remarked, gripping my legs a bit tighter.

"The thing that you love can be anything in the world, and you won't care about how others think about it, because it's yours. I could go all around the world and back as long as I have food by my side!" I enthusiastically cheered, and Jihoo slightly smiled in response.

"Or when I used to dance, I would come home exhausted every single night, but it was all worth it because I'm doing something that makes my heart to the thing it loves." I finished, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Your optimism is very contagious." Jihoo commented after a while, and I smiled, while shaking my head. I genuinely looked him in the eyes; Something I was too shy to ever do before.

"I hope that one day, you find something that makes your heart feel like that." I genuinely commented, as I began to get up and walk away, before I could make myself look any more stupid than I already have.

#

The getaway was cut short by Junpyo taking the first plane home. Walking back into school felt as though I returned to all the bad atmosphere that I wanted to escape.

Once I walked into lunch and took my seat across from JanDi, she looked as though she was a deflated balloon. I've never seen her so miserable, and all I could do is tell her that everything would be alright.

Everything wasn't alright, though.

Junpyo walked down the stairs from his lounge, and all eyes turned to his cold glare.

"On behalf of the F4, I have an announcement to make," He began, as everyone bunched up to where he was standing.

"Yoon Jihoo is no longer part of the F4." Junpyo calmly remarked, and gasps began to fill the room, mines included. I looked up to Woobin and Yijung, who seemed equally as surprised.

"One week from now, Geum JanDi and Yoon Jihoo will be expelled from Shinhwa." He tossed coldly, as he began to walk up with the F4. I furrowed my brows in absolute distaste, and stood up in objection, only to see that the F4 were already gone.

I heard heels approach us, and I began to cringe.

"We can already tell that this mess was the work of Geum JanDi." Sunny commented, making JanDi cringe.

"It's all your fault that the F4 has been disrupted, and you need to take responsibility." Miranda piped in, and Ginger motioned for them to stop.

"The school was better off without you, and it will continue to be amazing once you are gone." Ginger coldly stated, and JanDi began to clench her fists, as she began to shake.

"Geum JanDi, Take responsibility!" Miranda and Sunny began to cheer.

"I'll take responsibility. You three can back up from JanDi now." Jihoo simply stated, as he approached the girls. They looked incredibly disappointed.

"Sunbae!" Ginger snapped, making me cringe because of her whiny voice.

"If you continue to act like this, we won't take your side!" She whined, as the others pouted. Jihoo gave a sassy grin before continuing.

"Who said I wanted you to?"

The simple phrase made Ginger angrily walk away, mumbling that he'll regret everything.

"Strengthen up, JanDi. Don't put a defeated face on so easily because of those irrelevant girls." I frowned, and ruffled her hair, as she gave a sigh.

I knew that this week would most definitely be the most emotionally draining.


	7. Episode 7

-Gardenia-

-Episode 7-

#

"The young master refuses to come down from his room." Junpyo's butler sighed, and gave us an apologetic bow.

Everyone sat in silence in his dining room, waiting for Junpyo to stop being so childish and come out of his room. His sister, Junhee, came to visit, and upon hearing about the feud between Jihoo, JanDi and Junpyo, she immediately wanted to settle it.

"Well," Junhee began, getting all of our attention.

"He won't die from skipping one meal." She stated, and JanDi began to pout.

"Was Junpyo the one who started this childish war?" Junhee asked, and there was an uneasy silence. I knew that Junpyo wasn't at fault in the situation, but his reaction was completely out of hand.

"I'm against it," Woobin started, switching the subject.

"I can't stand to see the F4 split up over something so small." He finished, and I felt conflicted. This may be the one time I'd actually take Junpyo's side

"I'm not for this either, but…" Yijung trailed off, making Junhee nod.

"And that's alright." She nodded in understandment.

We were interrupted by the butlers coming in with food. We were met by an assortment of expensive crab, caviar, and duck. The butlers also began to pour a drink, and I immediately knew it would most likely be an alcoholic drink.

"You should eat a lot. Going against ignorance is going to take a lot of energy." Junhee nudged towards JanDi, who gave an uneasy smile. Junhee smiled, and held her glass up.

"To the childish idiot upstairs. Cheers!" She began, and everyone else glanced at each other before repeating the word "Cheers!"

#

As soon as I stepped foot into my house, I was bombarded by a hug. I cringed completely, until I heard the tiny voice that surprised me.

"Noona! I missed you so much!" I looked down to see my 11 year old Step-Brother Youngmin, and returned the hug.

"Youngmin, Are you visiting from school?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion. Youngmin goes to a boarding school in the United States, and hardly ever visits aside from holidays. He briskly shook his head, before clinging again.

"No. I'm never going back to that place ever again." He pouted. I furrowed my brows.

"What's the matter with it?" I asked, completely confused.

"I'm sick of Dad butting in on my life. All of the kids there hate me because of him." Youngmin sulked, and went towards the dining area. I wordlessly followed, and gave a sigh.

"Youngmin, you can't give up an amazing opportunity just because of some kids at your school." I pouted, and he shook his head stubbornly.

"I want to go to Shinhwa with you." He crossed his arms. I could tell with the sass in his 11 year old voice that he meant business. I smiled, and shook my head.

"You are as stubborn as a bug." I commented, and he nodded, agreeing completely.

"As long as Dad is okay with it, I wouldn't mind watching over you." I nodded, and Youngmin's face lit up.

"Good, because he already agreed!" He smiled, before running off.

This little kid is going to rule the world someday.

#

"Can you hear anything?" JanDi hastily whispered, as I had my ear clinging to the door of the Headmaster's office. Once the F4 fessed up about where Junpyo was, they led us there. I knew he was trying to intimidate the headmaster into expelling JanDi and Jihoo.

I furrowed my brows, as I tried to make out anything Junpyo was ranting about.

"Just make it happen, or else I will fire you." I heard Junpyo threaten in his old, emotionless voice.

"Oh!" I gasped, getting everyone's attention.

"He threatened to fire the headmaster!" I whispered, and JanDi furrowed her brows.

Suddenly the talking stopped, and I heard footsteps coming towards the door on the other side. I also heard a clicking of heels.

"Someone's coming out!" I panicked. I immediately hid behind the F4, and they began to chuckle at my reaction.

"Ow, Noona, that really hurts!" Junpyo whined, as he walked out with his ear being held by his older sister.

"Follow us." She ordered, pulling him along. I couldn't help but laugh at Junpyo being so tall but still able to be pushed around by his older sister.

#

Junhee led us to the F4 lounge at the Gu Estate. I took a seat on one of the couches, next to Junpyo, and sat "Criss-Cross Applesauce" on the couch.

"Do you know what type of guy I hate the most?" Junhee asked us, as she picked up a pointer encrusted with diamond. She pointed to Junpyo, who rolled his eyes.

"A stubborn one." He answered. She shook her head.

"One who's so stubborn to not forgive his friends." She answered, making Junpyo's expression tighten.

"Since the only way you function is competitively," She began, and I could already tell where this was going.

"I think that having a competition would truthfully let this spat be resolved." Junhee finished, and I furrowed my brows in curiosity.

"Competition, like sports?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Exactly sports." She simply commented, causing an uproar.

"I haven't exercised in 84 years." I playfully sobbed. Junhee expected this kind of uproar, because one whack of the pointer was enough to get our attention.

"If Junpyo wins, JanDi and Jihoo will be expelled. If Jihoo wins, they are on a clean slate and get to stay at Shinhwa." Junhee smiled.

"Best out of 3 wins, and the loser must appreciate the outcome. No brattiness." Junhee finished.

"I agree." Jihoo stated, putting no thought into it.

Everyone began to look at each other, and our eyes led to Junpyo, who stared back at us once he realized he was being stared at.

"Fine, I'll do it." He irritably huffed, making me smile.

"Will the 3 in a love triangle please step up?" Junhee asked, and Jihoo immediately stood up, JanDi reluctantly following. I looked at Junpyo, and gave him a swift hit upside the head.

"Ow, what, demon?" He asked, and I gave him a glare.

"Dude, go up." I furrowed my brows, and he widened his eyes in realization.

"Me?" He asked, and everyone nodded. Junpyo gave a sigh before standing up with the other 2.

"Sohee, I'll need your help with writing at least 10 sports. Some have to be something that one person may be strong at, one person may be weak at, and something that's neutral." Junhee ordered, and I nodded.

I took a piece of paper off of Junpyo's desk, much to his dismay.

"Hey, You, That paper isn't cheap." He commented, as I began to pick up one of his pens before flashing him the middle finger.

It didn't take long to come up with sports (I even wrote dance and prayed that it would be chosen more than anything, so we all could have a good laugh.). Once a lottery machine was rolled in by the butlers, I grinned as I put the suggested sports into the machine.

"Are you sure you want to trust Kim Sohee with this? She looks suspicious." Yijung grinned, before Woobin gave a joking nod.

"Can I press the button?" I asked, like a giddy child, and Junhee gave a grin before nodding. I pressed the button, as the chosen piece of paper slid up. I caught it and took one glance at the paper before giving a frown.

"Horseback riding," I stated, my voice completely deflated and bored.

I could see the look of dismay on Junpyo's face as he glared at Jihoo. Jihoo and I used to horseback ride together when we were younger, and Junpyo never learned how to handle horses gently because of his explosive personality.

Junpyo took a look at our team, and scoffed.

"This isn't fair, I'm taking this gremlin for this round." Junpyo pouted, as he grabbed me forcefully. I gave him a look that made him automatically let go.

"Sohee's on my side though, so she deserves to be on our team." JanDi interjected, as she pulled me back to her side.

"Since Sohee isn't involved in this, she's as neutral as Woobin or Yijung. She doesn't belong to a team, therefore she'll have to train whoever needs help." Junhee pointed out. I pouted, and stood next to Junpyo.

"Welcome to my team, peasant." Junpyo commented, and I crossed my arms.

"Unwillingly." I sassed.

#

"The first thing you have to do is let the horse earn your trust." I began, as I walked through the family-owned horse stable that I've trailed through since I was younger than 6. I opened one of the gates, to take out my horse. Junpyo trailed behind, crossing his arms at my comment.

"This is Sebastian. He's my racing horse, so treat him well." I commented, as I started petting him.

"I don't get how a horse trusting me will let me win this competition." Junpyo raised his brow sassily. I gave a glare, before handing him a sugar cube.

"Here, try feeding Sebastian." I grinned, before taking a step back. Junpyo awkwardly shoved his hand outwards towards Sebastian. The horse didn't take well to it, because he let out a noise before backing up.

"See? If the horse doesn't trust you, how can you expect to work in tandem?" I commented, and Junpyo seemed bewildered.

"Maybe he senses evil." I muttered, before Junpyo let out an offended noise.

"As long as you treat him well, you can use him whenever you want to for preparation for the competition, but I'm not letting you use him at the competition." I offered, and Junpyo raised his brows at me.

"Since when are you so helpful?" Junpyo asked, and I gave a bitter smile.

"Since you wanted to expel my friends from Shinhwa." I glared, making Junpyo groan.

#

The horse racing track was reserved for this competition day.

Junpyo brung his horse, which he ironically named "Lucky". His horse was the exact contrast of Jihoo's, whose was a white color, and his name was "Rui".

"Good luck today, Devil." I smiled at Junpyo, and he nodded, completely occupied. Once I was about to walk off, he stopped me for a second.

"Hey, demo- I mean Sohee," He began, and I glanced over at him.

"Thanks." He awkwardly commented, while scratching the back of his head. I smiled, knowing that must've been a pain for him to say.

"You're welcome, Junpyo." I smiled.

As soon as I saw JanDi and Jihoo walk out and towards us, I immediately went over and wrapped my arm around JanDi.

"Good luck today, guys!" I genuinely smiled at the both of them, and JanDi gave a weary smile.

"Thank you." She pouted, looking towards Junpyo. I sighed in his direction.

"That Junpyo; he's a character." I shook my head.

"He's been rehearsing feverishly all week for this, and honestly, he has a good chance." I looked at the both of them, and I could see Jihoo's expression become slightly perplexed.

"I think as long as long as you and Rui work well together, you'll have a great chance!" I smiled reassuringly before petting the huge horse, and Jihoo seemed a bit relieved.

I began to back up towards Yijung and Woobin, the neutral people in this triangle. I gave a smile to the both of them, and stood with them.

"How was it like helping Gu Junpyo all week?" Yijung curiously asked, and I shook my head.

"Hellish, but he's alright." I shrugged, making the both of them laugh.

"I'll get the race started before Junpyo blows a fuse." Yijung chuckled, as he motioned over to Junpyo tapping his foot impatiently. He rushed over to him, and started counting down.

"Is your ankle better?" Woobin asked, and I looked over at him and smiled. My ankle was in a tiny brace that looked more like a sock, and I wore it over my shoe.

"It's a lot better! I'm just wearing this for better support!" I pointed to the brace, and he gave a relieved smile.

"About the trip to Cambodia," Woobin began, and I raised my eyebrows in curiosity.

"The weekend was really fun with you. More fun than I've had in a long while." He finished, and I looked up at him.

"And you make me feel a lot less serious." He genuinely smiled. I was entirely touched by his words, and I playfully punched his arm.

"You aren't getting mushy with me, are you?" I playfully smiled, and he chuckled.

"Maybe I'm a mushy guy. "Before you judge me as such a person, at least get to know me first"." He teased, quoting himself.

Yijung returned with JanDi by his side, and we all began to watch the horse race in curiosity. Jihoo completely glided through the first lap, and Junpyo was visibly exasperated. Junpyo began to push Lucky harder, and I furrowed my brows.

"What is he doing?" I asked to no one in particular.

Junpyo ran through the second lap, and I could tell that the horse was being pushed too hard.

"He's pushing that horse too hard." Yijung muttered.

"And he's winning." Woobin frowned.

Junpyo crossed the finish line for the 3rd lap, but the poor horse doubled over in pain. I've never felt so heartbroken, and part of me was happy that I didn't let him use Sebastian.

"That poor horse." I pouted.

#

"Today is Jihoo's lottery, so he gets to choose." Junhee have a polite smile.

Jihoo walked up and pressed the lottery button. Once the red ball lifted up, Jihoo picked it up, and read the paper out loud.

There was silence in the room, and everyone glanced at each other, and back to Jihoo. Junpyo looked as smug as ever.

#

The day of the competition was the most hectic one yet.

It started off calm, though. Before the competition, everyone chatted amongst themselves and the atmosphere was a lot more light.

It started early in the morning, and I didn't have much time to get ready. Without contacts, I was as blind as a bat, so my thick rimmed glasses were all that I could take. Luckily I remembered to even take out my retainer. My eyes were half closed and I just looked tired.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Woobin teased, as he sat next to me. I glared in return, but softened up.

"I'm just not a morning person." I gave a smile, and he chuckled in return.

"I could tell. Back in Cambodia, I told everyone to let you sleep in and you woke up at 3pm." He gave a laugh, and my brows shot up.

 _I knew it._

I didn't mean to whisper that outloud, but as soon as I heard him laugh, I felt absolutely stupid, and turned absolutely red. Woobin noticed and began to poke my cheek. I slapped his hand away playfully, and he smiled.

"Can you help me with something, though?" Woobin asked, and I looked over at him.

"I'm going to try and convince Junpyo out of doing the race." He whispered towards me.

"Have fun with that." I began to laugh.

"Come and help me." Woobin suggested, and I let out a disapproving noise before chuckling.

"Please? If you help, we could," He began to contemplate what he was going to say.

"Get coffee together." He finished, and I raised my brows.

"Why would you think I'd want coffee with you?" I playfully asked.

"I'll pay!" He suggested, and I scrunched up my nose at him jokingly.

"Okay, I really want coffee, so I'll help you." I gave a smile, and he immediately pulled me along with him.

Junpyo was clad in a full racing suit, and about to put his helmet on until we interrupted him.

"Hey, Devil." I smiled, trying to begin the conversation.

"If you're trying to talk me out of this, it's too late." Junpyo crossed his arms.

"I'm asking you a favor. Think about what you're going to do out there." Woobin suggested.

"It's not too late to back out, is all we're saying." I tried to reason, and Junpyo returned it with a glare.

"Look, I don't need you or your little girlfriend trying to talk me out of this. My mind is made." Junpyo glared, before putting his helmet on.

I couldn't even take offense to him calling me Woobin's girlfriend because I could tell he said it angrily. Woobin and I exchanged a glance and sighed.

"Just be careful, Junpyo." Woobin genuinely stated.

"Whatever." Junpyo stated, obviously preoccupied by something behind us.

As Woobin and I began to walk away, I saw what Junpyo was seeing. JanDi and Jihoo were embracing each other. If the hug wasn't enough, Jihoo have her a kiss on the forehead. They were playing dirty.

And I felt the same way that Junpyo felt externally.

I gave a sigh, and Woobin looked over at me.

"I just hope they're both careful." Woobin sighed, and I nodded in agreement. We sat in the building that gave us a view of the entire race track. Jihoo was easily in front, and part of me was entirely proud of him. Junpyo was very distracted, and ended up swiveling off track, and I frowned.

"I know that Jihoo is only protecting himself and JanDi but that wasn't the way to do it." I pouted, and Woobin nodded in agreement.

Jihoo won the race, and my entire face twisted up. I wanted him to win, but not like this. I immediately got up, and absentmindedly started walking off.

"Hey," Woobin called out, before catching up with me.

"Are you still up for coffee?" He asked, and I gave a weak smile and a nod. I needed to get my mind off of this competition, and especially off of Jihoo.

#

Once the coffee was done, Woobin went over to the the counter to get it, and returned to our table quickly. I took a sip of it, before making a noise of approval. I heard Woobin chuckle at my reaction, and began to turn red again. The coffee shop wasn't really crowded, and the shop felt a lot more like a hangout spot.

"What? This coffee is really good." I defended, before giving my hair a nervous flip.

"You're just very cute." He amusingly glanced at me. I began to playfully glare at him.

"You not considering this as a date, are you?" I glared, and he threw his hands up in defense.

"If the shoe fits," Woobin trailed off, not finishing the idiom, before taking a sassy sip of his coffee.

"Hey!" I smiled, and shook my head. Suddenly , something dawned on me, and I put my coffee down for a second.

"Even if this is a date, what do people do on dates anyways?" I asked out of pure curiosity, and Woobin raised his eyebrows at me.

"Weren't you in a relationship for a year? You guys never went on a date?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"I didn't like him _that_ much," I chuckled, making Woobin tilted his head confusedly.

"I didn't want to date him, my Step Father made me." I pointed out, and took another sip of coffee.

"His dad knew my step father and everything fell into place." I remarked, and he nodded in understandment.

"Well, congratulations, you're doing what people do on dates!" He enthused, and I was confused.

"You just sit, and talk about things. Like feelings." He smiled, and I started to laugh.

"I have no feelings." I joked, and Woobin shook his head at me.

"I disagree," Woobin interjected, and I curiously looked up at him.

"I think you're one of the most warm-hearted people I've ever met." He commented. I knew I was beginning to turn red.

"Is that what you tell all the girls you've dated?" I joked, trying to shake off the blush.

"You're the only person I've ever told that." He genuinely smiled. Seeing his smile made me want to melt into my coffee.

"Also," He started, and I raised my brows.

"You're blushing." He grinned, and I smiled embarrassingly before covering my face.

#

The lottery began to roll for the last time. I sat near JanDi again, and hugged my knees. Junpyo walked up to get the ball with the piece of paper, and took one glance at it before throwing the paper to the floor.

"This is fixed," Junpyo began, and I picked the paper up, before furrowing my brows.

"What is it, Sohee?" Jihoo asked, and I cleared my throat.

"It's swimming." I frowned.

"I won't do it." Junpyo crossed his arms, and I looked at Junhee.

"It's either you do it or you forfeit." She reasoned.

"I nominate to take his place, if he agrees." Yijung spoke up, and I stood up.

"Woah, that's not fair at all. If Jihoo could get into a race car to race with you, you better get your butt in that water." I defended.

"Sohee has a point." JanDi agreed, and Jihoo nodded.

"I agree with Sohee." Jihoo raised his brows.

"I agree with Yijung." Woobin interjected.

"And I agree with Yijung." Junpyo defended.

"But if someone takes Junpyo's place, someone should also take Jihoo's place." JanDi suggested.

"It's not like Peg-legged Sohee can take his place." Junpyo glared.

"Okay, I have an idea." Junhee suggested, and all of us turned to her.

"We'll divide it into three rounds. Yijung and Jihoo, and JanDi and Woobin." She finished, and each of us glanced at each other.

"I still think Junpyo should face his fears like Jihoo did, but if everyone agrees, I can settle with this." I sighed.

"I'll agree with the outcome as well." Jihoo gave in.

"Then it's settled." Junhee finished, and I shook my head.

"Don't worry Junpyo, we won't let up just because JanDi is a girl." Yijung began, and Woobin joined in.

"We'll do everything we can to beat the competition!" He enthused, before they all joined in for a fist bump.

This is going to be a huge dick measuring contest.

* * *

Hello! I'm back after a tiny break! I think updating every few weeks might be a lot less stressful for me?

This chapter was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you enjoy!

Until next chapter!

-BunniUnni


	8. Episode 8

#

"Hey. Gu Junpyo."

I looked over to Jihoo, who was filming as I spoke. The F4 decided that it was a good idea to send in some videos and tell Junpyo how everything was going since he left so suddenly. As soon as he heard the news of his father suddenly collapsing and passing away, he took an emergency flight out of South Korea.

It had been six months since we've heard from him at all.

It had been a very long six months; JanDi couldn't even stand to hear Junpyo's name without cringing or changing the topic. The F4 still wasn't used to not seeing Junpyo regularly, and everything felt like a piece was missing from us. University started for the F4 and I, and JanDi entered into her Senior year practically alone.

"Remember in High school, 9th year when I said that I never wanted to talk to you again after you put gum in my hair?" I began, chuckling at the memory. The smile suddenly faded when I thought about the next sentence. I didn't think that I could ever miss somebody as self absorbed and stubborn as Gu Junpyo, but once he was gone, it felt as though a fire had burned out.

"Well, I didn't mean it. We all miss you, and even I can't wait to see you again. I hope you're doing well." Once I was finished, I nodded at Jihoo so that he could end the take. He stopped the recording with a slight smile.

"Wow, one take without you cursing him out. That's a record." Jihoo chuckled, before putting his camera away. I scoffed at the playful tone of his voice, and my nose scrunched up.

"I have every right to be mad at him." I crossed my arms defensively, before looking at his curious expression. "Six months without contacting any of us? Without contacting JanDi-" I began, before being cut off.

"There's no use getting worked up over things that we can't help." Jihoo shook his head, and I sighed.

'He was right. I hate when he's always right.' I figured.

"Still. He better have a very good excuse." I trailed off. I sighed after thinking about it, and I reached over to get my coat and leave. My phone suddenly made a text message alert, and I picked it up before freezing at the message.

[Woobin:] We should talk.

I furrowed my brows before throwing the phone into my shoulder bag.

'I think you've said enough already.' I thought, with annoyance painting over my expression.

It had been 2 months since the breakup, and I avoided Song Woobin like the plague. For him to open up to me only for my prediction of his personality to be correct was devastating.

"How have you been, Sohee?" Jihoo suddenly asked, taking me aback. He stared at me intensively, making me feel embarrassed.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" I asked, my tone sounding more surprised than I would have liked. Once I realized what he was referencing to, I shuffled uncomfortably without realizing before forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine." I nodded quickly, before picking up my coat, and storming away to avoid conversation.

"I think you should talk to him." Jihoo commented, as though he said it absentmindedly. I froze when he suggested that, feeling the heat rise up to my face.

"I'll see you later." I commented before I hastily readjusted my shoulder bag and began walking away with more persistence.

#

We should talk.

It rang through my head again once I glanced at my phone. I wanted to pick up the phone, text him back and tell him to meet me, but I was far too stubborn to do that. Part of me wondered if there was a reason: There couldn't be any way for a guy to open up to you to suddenly close you out, without much explanation. The dominant part, however told me not to get my hopes up.

"Sohee," JanDi's voice snapped me back into our conversation. When I glanced over at her, it was a signal for her to continue. We were sitting in silence for a while, and she didn't seem like her usual cheerful self.

"I went to the doctors yesterday." She stated, making me raise my brows.

"Is something wrong?" I cautiously asked, making JanDi look over at me.

"I won't be able to swim anymore because of my shoulder." She said, her voice sounding blunt. My face immediately softened at the news, and I didn't know what to do.

"It's that bad?" I hesitated asking the question. JanDi looked into the space ahead of us, her eyes looking sullen. She didn't answer the question, but her silence was more than enough for me to get the hint.

"Oh, JanDi. I'm so sorry." I genuinely said, before hugging my legs. JanDi seemed as though she was about to begin crying.

"I think I've cried about it as much as I can at this point...But it was the only thing that I was actually good at," She bitterly remarked. "What's next for me?"

"That's where you're wrong." I interrupted. "You're very bright, and I've never met such a kind soul in my life. Your best talent is that you never give up, no matter what."

"I wish that I could change things as much as you did in such a short time in my entire lifetime." I looked out at the mirrors staring back at us. We were inside of the empty dance classroom, which became a new hiding spot for me since the college semester began.

"You change things a lot, too." JanDi replied, making me bitterly chuckle as a response.

"When I first came to Shinhwa, the first person who decided to befriend the commoner of the school was you." She smiled, before standing up. The memory of JanDi entering into Shinhwa made a warm, nostalgic feeling sweep through my body.

"I should go and try to relax." JanDi excused herself, before standing up.

"Feel better, please." I almost begged her

Once I was completely alone, I glanced at myself in the mirror for a short while before looking down at my phone again. I was suddenly startled by my phone making a noise while I was looking at the lockscreen.

[Woobin:] Please.

I hesitantly opened my phone, before slowly typing a response. I couldn't decide whether or not to answer.

[Sohee:] Why should I?

I waited for his response, before hearing a voice outside of the door.

"Because I'm already here, so we have no choice but to talk." His deep voice rang from the other side.

I quickly stood, and started pacing towards the door. I put my hand on the knob, before hesitating. I quickly took my hand off the knob and jumped when my phone vibrated again.

[Woobin:] Are you there?

Part of me wondered if he was just wondering if I would lie and he knew I was in there.

[Sohee:] Where? I went home.

Once the message sent, I heard a sigh from the other side of the door, and steps walking away. I couldn't help but sigh and bite my lip.

'Just let me be angry with you' I frustratingly thought before sitting back down in my spot.

#

"I think," JanDi hesitated with finishing her sentence. In my house, I made sure that JanDi could wrap herself around in a blanket and rest. I knew how heartbroken she felt over not being able to swim as well as she used to. I looked towards her in a way that told her to keep going.

"I think I'm going to follow Gu Junpyo." She finally stated after a short silence. I tilted my head in confusion.

"You're going to find him?" I asked, and JanDi gave a sharp nod. "I don't think I should give up just yet..." She trailed off, making me glance at her concernedly.

"JanDi, I hate so say this but...what if there's a reason why he hasn't contacted us?" I curiously asked. Junpyo wasn't a complete asshole. I knew that in the back of my mind, he didn't cut us off because he didn't want to speak to us.

"Then, I will find it out respectfully, as his girlfriend." JanDi nodded to herself. I tried not to sigh, before wrapping my arm around her.

"Well, if you're doing this, I can't let you do it alone." I offered, and she shook her head.

"Sohee, I love you, but I have to do this by myself."

"But, you and I both know whenever you do things, it leads to trouble."

"I'd rather go by myself tomorrow. He's in Macau, and-"

"Macau, as in China? JanDi..." I trailed off, making JanDi bite her lip. She knew that I was right.

"I'll send you a postcard." JanDi tried to lighten up the mood with a sheepish smile. I gave in immediately, and playfully rolled my eyes. I knew that she was too stubborn to let me go with her and do everything.

"Fine, fine. I won't meddle." I lied. I knew that I had to tell the F3 about this because she would get into trouble.

"Thank you so much! I'll be fine, I promise!" JanDi opened her arms to give me a huge hug. There was a small pause, before JanDi spoke again.

"You're going to tell the F4, aren't you?" She asked, and I chuckled, before nodding.

"Definitely."

#

JanDi swam as fast as her arm allowed her in the steep school pool. It was the last time she would be able to swim here, and everyone including the F3 and Gaeul came to celebrate the occasion.

I heard Gaeul sniffle next to me, which made me glance over. I couldn't help but grin at the sight of Yijung handing her his handkerchief. Once JanDi finished swimming, Jihoo walked over in order to help her out of the pool, and I couldn't help but smile at the kind gesture.

I glanced over at Woobin, who seemed to already be glancing, because he quickly looked away as soon as we locked eyes.

'Why is he so predictable? ' I chuckled to myself.

JanDi gathered herself enough to walk over to us. Her hair was still dripping wet, but she managed to dry off enough. Jihoo seemed to have a cirtificate with him, and began reading off from it.

"From now on..." Jihoo began, glancing at JanDi before clearing his throat.

"Right now, We will begin Swimmer Geum JanDi's retirement ceremony. First, we will present our distinguished service award." Jihoo began, before stuttering. All of us let out a chuckle, and Woobin decided to continue the speech.

"Distinguished Service Award. It is presented to Geum JanDi based on her natural nosiness, and her "weed" spirit," He began, making everyone chuckle.

"The only student who had the best swimming ability at such a fierce, prestigious school such as Shinhwa." He leaned the certificate over for Yijung to read.

"Especially with the specialty of taming the F4 and Gu Junpyo, she is second to none, thus raising the standards for her sportsmanship and therefore awarded Distinguished Service by Korea's F4." He finished the speech. Jihoo took the certificate, and handed it to JanDi, whose expression seemed wistful. She gave a bow, and I began the applause.

"Geum JanDi, an ending means another beginning." Yijung encouraged.

"Now, go to Macau, find Junpyo, and give it to him good." Woobin smiled, while making a playful fighting stance.

"Thank you guys, truly." JanDi thanked, with a bow.

"JanDi." Gaeul called at her, before giving her a hug. I joined in with the hug as well.

"Have a safe trip." I encouraged to her, and she gave a small smile back.

"I will!" She shouted to encourage herself.

"JanDi...We should get ready for work now." Gaeul patted her on the back, and JanDi nodded.

"It was nice seeing you guys. Thank you so much!" She bowed, before walking away with Gaeul. Once the door closed, I glanced at it to make sure she was gone.

"Which flight should we catch?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Definitely the 7am flight tomorrow. We don't know what she'll get herself into in such a short amount of time." Jihoo commented, making me nod.

"Okay, let's get ready, then." Yijung suggested.

#

"I'm on a plane again with you guys..." I remarked, before sitting down in a plane seat. Woobin glanced at me once I sat down in a seat alone.

"Cheer up...it's a short flight at least." Woobin hesitantly encouraged, and I pressed my lips into a fine line.

Once the plane took off, I couldn't hold on to the pillow in front of me any tighter than I already was.

"Sohee, are you alright?" Woobin, who was sitting across from me concernedly asked. I gave a small smile and a weak nod.

"I'm fine." Was all I could muster to say to him. He didn't break his glance this time, as if he needed to talk about something.

"I knew that you were still in the dance room that day...That was why I didn't walk in." He mentioned with a soft voice, so that Yijung, who was seated a few seats back, and Jihoo, who seemed to be napping next to us couldn't hear.

I froze when he mentioned this. "I'm sorry..." I apologized while looking down at my pillow.

"I don't blame you, but I just-" Woobin began, struggling to find words.

"I didn't break up with you for the reason you think." Woobin admitted, making me furrow my brows.

"Why are you telling me this now?" I whispered to him sharply.

"I think you misunderstood my intentions a lot–" He began, but I cut him off without thinking.

"The night after I tell you that we should take things slower is when you chose to break up with me?" I whispered. "Was it really too much to wait? Tell me, are all guys this narrow-minded?" I asked, making Woobin pause. He seemed hurt by what I said, and at that moment I didn't care much about it.

"We need to talk about this after we get to Macau because we won't at least get eavesdropped there." Woobin commented. "Please don't avoid me next time and let me explain."

"No promises." I shot back, almost playfully before realizing that my hands were shaking.

"You're shaking." Woobin commented, making me look out the window. I knew that tears were threatening to leave my eyes, and if I were to look at him again, I wouldn't be able to hold back.

#

"Alright," Jihoo began. He exited out of Junpyo's hotel with a sigh. There was no sign of JanDi anywhere, and we were starting to grow weary.

"We should split up." Jihoo suggested. "2 of us go left and two of us go right."

I nodded at the idea, until Yijung put his arm around Jihoo. "Yoon Jihoo. My great friend. Shall we go right?"

Jihoo paused at the idea for a second, until he nodded with approval.

"Call us if you need anything." Jihoo casually threw out before walking away with a grimace of a smirk on his face.

'Those bastards.' I thought.

I glanced over at Woobin, who seemed just as confused by the banter. "Well, we should try and find JanDi." He suggested, before beginning to walk in the opposite direction of Jihoo and Yijung.

There was a silence between us, until I decided to break it.

"Earlier," I began, making Woobin look over to me. I managed to keep my expression stoic while he looked over, my eyebrows heightened in mock-curiosity.

"When you said I misunderstood your intentions, Did I really?" I tried to ask as casually as possible. "I was angry, and maybe I said some things I shouldn't have said." I nudged the idea at him, trying not to make it seem like I was apologizing.

"My father...found out about us." Woobin suddenly admitted, albeit hesitantly. I curiously looked over at him, slightly freezing before remembering that we had to find JanDi.

"I didn't like how he acted after he found out-"

"HEY, YOU! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SUITCASE!"

Woobin and I glanced at each other after hearing a very loud, angry high-pitched Korean girl shout in the distance.

"Geum JanDi!" I shouted, running into the direction where she was at.

"Sohee stay back, it could be dangerous." Woobin hushed me, and he began to text the other F3 members.

"HELP ME!" We heard a shout. Footsteps came running up to us,and we quickly discovered that it was Jihoo and Yijung.

"Where is she?" Jihoo asked, and Woobin stepped up.

"She's close by, let's hurry." Woobin hastily led them over to JanDi.

"Stay behind us, Sohee!" Jihoo warned, before heading in with the rest of the F3.

When I saw the F3 stride in to fight off JanDi's attackers, I immediately ran over to JanDi to make sure she was alright. JanDi wrapped me into a hug as soon as she realized it was me, and began to start crying.

I glanced over to see the guys tangled in the fight, and my eyes couldn't help but lock in at Woobin, who seemed to be very skilled with having to fight people off. The attackers didn't seem to be good fighters, because they were on the ground and knocked out within less than 5 minutes.

Woobin approached one of the attackers, and pointed with a scowl on his face. "Do you know Il Shimhwe?"

The seemingly innocent question caused the attackers to cower back in fear.

"A-are you Prince Song?" One of the attackers asked, and Woobin replied with a stern. "Yeah."

This caused all of the men to get on their knees and beg.

"Please, overlook this!"

"I'm sorry!"

Woobin returned the begging with a scowl. "Just get lost. Go!" He shouted, making the men run off.

I couldn't help but stare at him after the ordeal.

Jihoo walked over to JanDi and I , and bent down so that he could talk to JanDi at the same level. "We aren't psychic. I just had a feeling." He reassured her.

"A feeling?" JanDi replied, confused by the context.

"I had a feeling you'd be crying just like this." He chuckled, as he wiped away her tears. It was a gesture that made me envious from the bottom of my heart. After a second of smiling at each other, JanDi glanced up at Woobin and Yijung, who both seemed to like the sight.

* * *

AN: a christmas gift! i apologize ;; i've been busy because of college and writers block! I've aso been grieving because of Jonghyun passing away. He meant a lot to me.

Soooo if you're a bit confused, Sohee and Woobin dated for a few months until Woobin broke it off. I had a chapter explaining this better, but I thought it would be confusing so I'll use it later on! Whoever read it though, don't worry! It doesn't really spoil anything.


	9. She Understood

-Gardenia-

-She understood-

#

Song Woobin hadn't been much older than 15.

He sat alone at the poolside of the school pool; Just beginning high school, unfortunately on the wrong foot. His childhood friends, Junpyo, Yijung and Jihoo left hours ago, which left him more time to think. The sun was well over set, and his father didn't have much of an intention to reach out to his son, let alone send anyone to pick him up.

' _Why bother?'_ He thought, before splashing some water with his hand absentmindedly. He frowned, and thought back to his friends, making his mood even worse.

The F4 weren't always the best of friends.

Sure, the Gu, Song, So and Yoon families had made sure that each of their sons remained in close proximity ever since they stepped foot in Pre-School. It was a good business opportunity to get their sons to build a friendship- or more so a tolerance towards each other. From that time on, the boys were "insufferable", but as the years went on, they began to have less and less in common.

Woobin knew that his friends were only kept around because of his background.

Woobin had been raised by his father for as long as he could remember. Song Youngmin, his father, never fully explained what happened to his mother, and over the years, Woobin had to accept it.

He was raised "tough as nails", as his father called it. Woobin was the only one who knew of his father's secret as to how he was so successful. His father had dangerous ties with the mafia, and tried to involve his son as much as possible, though he always denied. He didn't want to be the type of person his father was. A criminal was light of what Woobin really thought of his father.

"Song Woobin?" A voice called out. His thoughts were interrupted by the voice.

Woobin turned around to see his classmate, Kim Sohee. They barely knew much of each other, though she was quite close and a family friend of Junpyo's family. Sohee had a smile of gold, with a heart of gold to match. It was something that made Woobin's heart feel something he wouldn't be able to describe until later on in his life.

She carried her ballet slippers in one hand, and walked out of the locker room.

Sohee was a very thin girl, and Woobin suspected it was from her rigorous ballet training. He always heard of rumors flying around about her weight, but she didn't seem too food-cautious around them. She seemed like a very nice person, and always smiled whenever talked to.

Sohee noticed her classmate's mood, and walked over, before sitting next to him. She hugged her knees, a habit that she'd been doing since she was able to walk.

"What's wrong?" She asked, with concern ringing from her voice.

"I just," Woobin stalled, knowing that everything would explode once he started talking. It was a bad habit he acquired, and he couldn't stop it.

"I just wonder why everyone bothers with me." Woobin stated, as he looked forward instead of at her. She tilted her head in confusion.

"That's nonsen-" Before she could continue her sentence, he interrupted.

"My friends, we barely have much in common. It's as if the only thing we have in common is how much is in our parent's bank account. Though I barely fit in there. My father is a criminal." He let the last thing slip out, and didn't even care.

Sohee sat in silence for a while, contemplating what her next answer would be. She didn't feel that wanted amongst her friends, or even her boyfriend as of late.

She did know, however, how important Woobin was to each of the F4. When Woobin would disappear for a few days without explanation, the F4 worried endlessly for their missing puzzle piece to return. Yijung seemed the most worrisome out of the bunch.

"Without you, I think your friends would feel the same way. You and the F4 are a bunch of loners." Sohee joked, making Woobin smile slightly. Sohee had always been a "Happy Pill."

"I know how it feels to not feel wanted. I barely talk to my family anymore, and my friends, well," She began, looking into the distance as well. Her face had a perplexed expression, and it made Woobin's stomach churn.

"They aren't that fantastic. Lately it feels like we're only friends because of our status." Sohee finished, before Woobin looked over at the girl in realization.

 _She understood._

"Your friends care about you very much. I don't think there's been a time where Junpyo has talked bad about you. And Yijung is a basket case whenever you leave for just a few days." Sohee warmly smiled towards him. The smile made Woobin smile as well. His heart skipped a beat.

He hadn't realized how positive of a person Sohee was until a few months ago. Over the years, Sohee followed behind the F4 like a duck. Woobin would pull pranks with Junpyo towards her, the most recent prank made her cut her hair up to her neck because it involved bubblegum. She was still so forgiving towards the pranksters, even pranking them back just as bad.

"Thank you, Sohee." Woobin smiled at her, and she enthusiastically smiled back. Her smile made his heart quicken again.

Sohee was undoubtedly a very pretty girl, and was quite popular with her peers. Her boyfriend, Hyunki, would complain a lot about her towards the F4 just to seem cool; Calling her frigid. Her friend, Ginger, would follow Hyunki like a lost puppy when Sohee wasn't around, and Woobin noticed that himself.

Woobin could also tell that Sohee had a pure heart. A heart that he could see a lot of his former self in, just by talking to her. Something about her made him want to protect her already, and he knew it would be someday soon.

He watched as the small girl walked away, and wished she'd stay a lot longer.

* * *

 _A/N: If you're a bit confused as to why I added a small one-shot, I wanted to say that I'm trying a new thing with my fanfic! Every few chapters, I'll make a one shot that takes you back into a flashback of a character. It'll be a short chapter, and it just gives you a touch of why the character does the things they do._


	10. Episode 9

_-Gardenia-_

 _-Episode 9-_

 _#_

After what happened last night, I couldn't look Woobin in the eyes even more than before. Whenever I did, I was reminded about how my forehead planted straight into his jaw just because he kissed me on the forehead. The bruise on my forehead and the bruise on his jaw were also reminders.

' _Exactly. He kissed you on the forehead,'_ I thought, knocking some sense into myself.

' _Of course you'd freak out.'_ My mind sassed at me. I took my contacts out of my eyes, before putting my hair into a ponytail.

I looked out of my window and at the Winter ground. Somin had been playing Christmas music to get us in the mood for the holidays, and the snow fell gracefully. I couldn't find myself to get into the Holiday spirit, because I thought about my mom more and more.

Every year, she'd take off from work for a week, not even answering business e-mails because she called Christmas "family time". She'd let the butlers around the house off for Christmas, so they could go home to their families as well. She'd even let us put the tree up, and decorate it, even if we didn't have the best decoration skills. Everything we did led up to Christmas Day, and every gift had a meaning.

"He really kissed you on the forehead?" Somin playfully called out, while laying on my bed. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked over at her, making her talk again.

"Where are all of the romantic details?" She whined before playfully tapping on her tummy. It took me a second to realize that we were talking about Woobin before I zoned out.

"Well, there aren't any," I gave an embarrassed smile before scratching the back of my head.

"I might've planted my forehead into his jaw because I was surprised." I pouted, before moving my side bang farther over to reveal a small bruise on my forehead.

Somin automatically burst into laughter, making me playfully glare at her.

"Oh, my little sister has the worst luck." She laughed.

#

After my first dance class since my ankle gave out, I was more than relieved. I felt the exact same feeling that I felt once High School began; When I was able to dance again after becoming healthier.

I was usually the last to leave the locker room, mainly because I felt awkward changing in front of my classmates. The lingering feeling never left my mind, and I've always felt hasty.

Once I walked out of the locker room next to the pool area, I felt entirely too tired for it to only be 10am. I began to walk around to get to my next class, only to backtrace when I noticed someone was near the pool.

I froze and looked over at who it was.

Jihoo sat alone at the edge of the pool, looking as though he expected someone to be there. He didn't seem to notice me— or care if I was there or not.

Lately, I'd been too busy to give Jihoo much notice, but I could tell that he's been thinking a lot about JanDi and Junpyo.

I noticed that I didn't feel the amount of shyness that I used to feel when I approached him, and I started to realize that his heart would always lay somewhere else.

Never with _me_.

I fought against joining him and asking if he was alright, and decided to walk off to my next class.

" _Maybe it would be better if I didn't approach him."_ I thought.

"Are you spying on me again?" Jihoo's voice asked, with a hint of playfulness. I automatically froze, and looked back at him, with a smile.

"You wish." I gave a friendly eye-roll, before walking over to him.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked, before sitting next to him. His face hardened a bit when I asked the question, and I knew it was about JanDi.

"Who knows, maybe a rubber duck will join you, and you'll make a new friend." I joked, making him chuckle.

"I never got to tell you this genuinely with all that was going on, but thank you." Jihoo stated, making me look at him curiously.

"For what?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, making him laugh a bit.

"You truly have a heart of gold if you didn't realize how much you've helped JanDi and I throughout the whole feud." He commented, making me smile subconsciously smile. My cheeks automatically started feeling warm, especially since it came from him.

"T-that was nothing. I just didn't want any more fighting. I wanted to help as much as I could." I simply said, shrugging my arms.

Jihoo shook his head and smiled, before ruffling my hair and standing up.

"You've made me feel less lonely again." He commented, with a grin on his face.

"That's my job." I shrugged. Jihoo was about to leave, until he stopped for a second, as if he had something else to say.

"By the way," He began, before turning back to me, with a more mischievous expression.

"Did your cute middle school crush on me ever go away?" He grinned. I felt my heart stop in my chest, making me gasp.

 _Did he know all this time?_

I seemed to have said that out loud, because he called out:

"It was obvious." before leaving completely. I blinked rapidly for a few seconds, before letting out a frustrated noise.

"Why does he do this?" I questioned to myself, before shaking my head.

#

I almost rolled off my bed at the sound of my phone going off. It was almost the afternoon on a weekend; The weekends were usually dedicated to me sleeping in until Youngmin starts jumping on the bed for my attention. He's as cute as a button, but once he expects me to make food for him, (Because he likes my cooking more than any worker in the house.) I throw my slippers at him.

I unlocked my phone to see that the number wasn't one I recognized. I pouted and answered.

"Hello?" I asked, squinting my eyes at the window.

"Kim Sohee!" Woobin called out, making me furrow my brows.

"I never gave you my number." I playfully threatened, before rolling out of bed.

"JanDi gave it to me." He teased, making me glare into the distance.

"Geum JanDi." I shook my head. I liked keeping the anonymity of not giving him my number. It was as if I was being hard to get, which my intention.

"I was only calling because Junpyo stood us up today, and we have an extra spot at the shooting range. Do you want to come along?" He asked. The gesture was so nice that I couldn't let it down.

"Of course, I'll be on my way." I sheepishly said, before hanging up.

#

Once I arrived, the others were already set up. Jihoo, Woobin and Yijung greeted me with a wave, making me smile and wave back. The spot I had was next to Jihoo, and all of the materials were put out for me.

"Are you guys ready to get owned by a girl?" I asked, while loading up the BB gun.

"Right, How do you even know how to lift a gun." Yijung sassed, making me raise a brow.

"Probably better than you." I sassed back, making the other two make an "Oooooo" sound.

There was a short silence, and I glanced over at Woobin, quickly glancing somewhere else when I realized that he was already looking over at me. After that happened, I could see him smile out of the corner of my eye.

"That Junpyo." Jihoo began before taking a shot with the BB gun at a can, not making the shot whatsoever.

"I got stood up, he really isn't a help." Yijung jokingly sighed, taking a shot at the can, almost shooting it.

"It's cold. If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn't have came." Woobin joined in, just barely hitting the can.

"I'm stuck with you guys today. No offense." I joked, before missing my shot completely on purpose.

"Cute attempt." Yijung laughed, before I shot the can without looking. Everyone looked at me in pure silence for a few seconds.

"Your attempts were cuter." I smiled, before looking over to the F4.

"So, what else do you guys do for fun?" I teased, making Woobin playfully scoff.

"Awwww, the girl is bored." He chuckled, until suddenly he stopped, as if he realized something.

"What _do_ we do for fun?" He asked the others, who looked at each other and shrugged.

"We have video games and things like that at our lounge." Jihoo shrugged, making my eyes light up.

"More things I can beat you guys in." I joyfully clasped my hands together.

"Well, why are we still here? There's a bored girl in our presence!" Yijung smiled.

#

"Make yourself at home, little lady." Yijung insisted as he opened the lounge door. Junpyo jumped up at the sound of us walking in, and automatically twisted his face up when he saw me.

"Who let the Witch in?" Junpyo asked, making me glare.

"Well, since you ditched us this morning, we decided to bring a replacement." Jihoo playfully tossed at Junpyo, making him childishly cross his arms.

"I was busy." Was all that Junpyo could say, and I could easily see that he was hurt by his friends finding a "replacement".

I took a seat at the computer-area, where they had a ton of games stationed out at. Once I opened up a game, someone sat next to me.

"Mmmmm, don't you have something better to do?" I playfully asked, turning to Woobin. He gave me a friendly glare.

"Cute." He commented, making me scoff to shake off the jittery feeling I felt once he said that. There was a quick silence, until I began to blurt out how I felt.

"About that other night," I began, making Woobin raise a brow curiously.

"I'm still sorry that I hurt your jaw." I laughed, and Woobin shook his head dismissively, and chuckled.

"It's no big deal. I know you weren't expecting it." Woobin chuckled.

"I just...I want you to know that I'm interested in you, and you can trust me." Woobin commented, while giving a slight smile.

The comment scared me more than anything.

I've never considered what would happen if I were to have actual feelings for someone else. After what happened with HyunKi, the feeling hadn't crossed my mind.

Until now.

I gave a smile, and opened my mouth as if I were to say something.

Suddenly we heard the door open, and JanDi fumed as she walked in to see Junpyo. She took a few steps in and saw that I was here.

"Sohee, can you tell Junpyo that I wasn't kidding, and that this was the last straw?" JanDi glared. Everyone glanced at each other confusedly before Yijung spoke up.

"Well, he's right here." Yijung stated, before joining us for some type of safety.

"Why should I apologize? Gaeul should be thankful that I got rid of that trash for her." Junpyo shrugged, before glaring at JanDi again. JanDi let out a disapproving noise before crossing her arms.

"That's so typical of you to say. It's so beyond you to adjust yourself to suit someone else. And now Gaeul has to feel bad because of it." JanDi glared, before shaking her head. She began to turn red with anger.

There was a silence, before she began to turn around.

"Don't act like you know me anymore." She coolly tossed before walking out and slamming the door. I looked at Woobin, who seemed shocked as by JanDi as I was.

"Well, it just dropped 20 degrees in here." Yijung stated before pretending to shiver.

#

"Guys, I'm scared." Gaeul frowned.

Throughout the busy streets of the heart of the city, JanDi and I had a plan.

"Trust me, Gaeul. If a guy doesn't even text you, something is up." I pouted, before giving her a pat on the back for reassurance.

"We'll get to the bottom of this." JanDi stated, while looking through her binoculars.

"Ah, there's the club!" She pointed. We started to huddle over to the area, and slightly flinched when the door opened.

"O-oh no…" Gaeul muttered, once she realized that the guy she'd been dating walked out with another girl in his arms.

We began to creep behind subtly, while we listened in on the conversation.

"You know that commoner girl that I dated just for fun?" The guy snarkily commented, and the girl nodded shortly after.

"I went on a double date with her and her other commoner friend. The guy was such a Plutocrat, though!" He pointed out, and the girl gasped.

"A Plutocrat? You should introduce me!" The girl whined, making me cringe.

"Don't bother. The loser seemed like he had a bunch of money, but he has no taste. Both of the girls had bodies of a Middle School boy." He snorted, making the girl gasp.

"And yet her boyfriend was a Plutocrat? Was she that pretty?"

"I told him I'd introduce him to a girl like you and he punched me in the face."

I had enough of this asshole's behavior.

"Hey Asshole," I shouted, making the guy turn around. The girl looked stunned to see us.

"Oppa, do you know these girls?" She asked, making the guy step forward.

"Who are you? Their rich mascot?" The guy snarked at me, making me step forward.

"Is this an acceptable way to act after ignoring your girlfriend without any justifiable reason?" I asked, making the guy raise his brows.

"A reason? Alright." He walked in front of Gaeul.

"Stop sending me so many text messages. You're such a stalker." He harshly snapped at Gaeul.

"That's it!" JanDi snapped, before kicking him square in the jaw.

"Go to hell, you insensitive jerk!" JanDi shouted, before storming away. Gaeul and I immediately followed.

"I can't believe he cheated on me!" Gaeul frowned.

"I can't believe I said those things to Junpyo!" JanDi angrily shouted.

"I can't believe JanDi beat him up!" I shouted in astonishment.

"But still," Gaeul gently stated, grabbing on to JanDi's shoulder for her to slow down.

"What a relief about Junpyo." She finished.

"...I have to fix this!" JanDi shouted, before grabbing my wrist and running off with me.

"Stay strong, Gaeul!" I shouted, frowning at her deflated expression.

#

"JanDi, just go inside and apologize already!" I argued.

We stood outside of the door of the F4 lounge, and JanDi couldn't bring herself to walk in and apologize. Both JanDi and Junpyo were incredibly stubborn, and I'll admit that they belong together like two stubborn mules.

"Go in first. I can't do it right now!" JanDi pouted, before opening the door, and trying to push me.

"No, wait-" I was cut off by being shoved into the lounge, and all eyes looked at me curiously, making me give a forced, innocent smile.

"Hey," I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up from the embarrassment.

"Sohee? If JanDi wanted you to come here to apologize to me, it won't work." Junpyo rolled his eyes, making me scoff.

"What, I'm not here for that!" I defended, possibly a bit more unconvincing than I wanted it to come out.

"I can't visit my dear childhood friends out of the kindness of my heart?" I finished, while putting a hand to my chest.

I sat down, and JanDi walked in shortly after.

She walked over to Junpyo, who looked entirely annoyed at her presence.

"Junpyo, please accept…" JanDi started, before pulling out an apple.

"My apology!" She finished, making a cute word play on the word "apology" and "apple."

Junpyo looked as though he wanted to smile at the cute gesture, but instead snatched the apple, handing it to a bewildered Woobin, who looked at him.

"If the whole world worked on apologies, there wouldn't be any laws." Junpyo teased, making JanDi fume.

"What do you want?" She asked, with a glare.

"You have to grant me 3 wishes in order for me to accept the apology." He smiled, making JanDi cross her arms.

"Sure. Within reason. And you'll have to use your wishes within one minute. Starting now!" She shouted, before beginning to count.

Junpyo began to panic.

"Sit down!" He demanded, and JanDi followed suit, sitting down and counting.

"Now, stand up!" He wasted another wish, and JanDi stood up, still counting.

"You have to say: "Oppa, I'm really sorry" In a cute voice!" He finished, making JanDi freeze.

"No way!" She called out, making Junpyo shake his head.

"You have to!" Junpyo glared, and JanDi automatically turned red.

"O...Op- I can't do this!" She shouted, before storming out.

"Ah, JanDi wait!" I called out, before pouting.

"I have to catch up with her, we were going to go home together." I pouted, before walking out. Once I made it outside, JanDi was long gone.

"Ah, damnit." I crossed my arms. The sun set a long while ago.

Junpyo's doors opened suddenly, and I looked over to see Woobin, who must've known that I wasn't going to catch up with JanDi.

"I came just in case you didn't want to go home alone." Woobin smiled, and I returned the smile, before nodding.

"Thank you. JanDi walked entirely too fast." I gave a relieved smile. Woobin began to walk towards his car, and I followed.

#

Once he began to drive me home, the silence was comfortable as usual, and I watched as the christmas lights passed me by on the streets.

"I don't see the big deal about Christmas." Woobin commented, making me look at him.

"I've never had a memorable Christmas. My family was usually busy, and we had no tradition." He grimaced on the past, making me purse my lips.

"My sister and I wanted to bring the Christmas tradition back, but…" I trailed off.

"It just won't feel the same ever again." I commented, making him nod.

I stepped out of the car once he parked, and he stepped out as well, and began to walk to the door.

"Sohee," He began, making me turn to him.

"When I said that I was interested in you, did you feel the same way?" He suddenly asked, making me raise my eyebrows.

#

(3rd Person POV)

The F4 sat in a comfortable silence after Woobin walked out to presumably talk to Sohee. Yijung's mind was thinking of something, and he couldn't hold it back at all.

"That Sohee," Yijung thought out loud with a grimace of a smirk. He got the attention of Jihoo and Junpyo, who glanced over in his direction.

"She's a good match for Woobin." He finished, and Junpyo let out a chuckle.

"They're like two puzzle pieces that you think wouldn't match together but actually work." Junpyo agreed, shaking his head.

"You can see it in the way he looks at her," Jihoo began, staring absentmindedly in the distance, as if his mind was elsewhere.

"I just hope he makes the right choices with her." Jihoo finished, and Yijung nodded.

"After Yeonhee, I haven't seen him so invested into a person." Junpyo commented.

"Maybe our Don Juan might settle down a bit." Yijung laughed, before getting the pool table started for a game.

"He's all talk anyways. All he does is flirt." Junpyo laughed along, before joining Yijung.

* * *

 ** _Wooooah, it's been 3 months! I'm super duper sorry! It's been super duper hectic where I am, and I've had some medical problems ;; Luckily I'm up and running!_**

 ** _I doubt that I'll be longer than this when I update next c': if I am, you guys can scold me, alright?_**

 ** _Until next chapter~_**


	11. Episode 10

#

I froze when he asked me the question.

Immediately, I felt my face turn a bright red, and for once in my life, I didn't have anything to say. No sassy, or sarcastically-borderline flirty response. I was absolutely speechless.

I knew that he was anticipating my response, and already felt deflated once I hesitated. My heart pounded in my chest as I gave my next sentence. I began to panic once I noticed that he shook his head and immediately interjected with a noise.

"Ah, wait! I didn't mean to seem hesitant, I was just shocked!" I quickly interjected, answering the question that lingered in his mind, as he gave a relieved sigh, and a laugh.

"Please answer quickly before I throw up." He nervously chuckled. I never saw a nervous side of him, as he's always seemed so calm and collected, especially around women.

"I feel the same way." I finally admitted, after a small silence.

Woobin's face looked surprised, as though he didn't expect me to admit, or even think of being interested in him.

"It's scary to think about, because I didn't think that I'd ever want to feel interested in anyone ever again after what happened with HyunKi." I admitted, before sitting down on the stairs leading up to my front door. The crisp air made me cling to my jacket, and Woobin joined me, sitting right next to me.

"SoHee, I'm not HyunKi." Woobin stated, with a gentleness that I've never heard in his voice before. It made me absentmindedly smile, and feel nervous, giddy, and warm.

"I know you aren't." I looked at him seriously, making eye contact before delivering my next sentence.

"I just don't know how to trust you, honestly." I looked into the distance once I said that, and it left a lingering silence.

"I understand." Were the only words that Woobin could say.

The front door suddenly opened to Youngmin in his penguin pajamas, with a stern expression.

"Noona?" Youngmin crossed his arms, his stare was intensively on Woobin, who seemed bewildered by the little kid.

"Youngmin?" I asked, looking over at the tiny boy.

"Youngmin?" Woobin echoed, looking quite confused, and looking at me. It registered that I never introduced the two.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in realization.

"This is my step-brother, Youngmin!" I smiled, feeling myself turning red. Youngmin glared at Woobin intensively, before glancing back at me.

"And who is this?" Youngmin glared, before locking his arm with mines. Woobin gave a chuckle at the cute way Youngmin protectively grabbed me, and kneeled down to his level.

"Hi~ I'm Woobin. You're absolutely adorable, Youngmin!" Woobin gave a kind smile.

Youngmin didn't seem satisfied. He sized Woobin up before turning to me and loudly whispering: "I don't like him."

"Youngmin!" I exclaimed, before giving him a light smack.

"Ow!" He pouted, before pulling me inside with him.

"Ah, goodnight Woobin!" I shouted, before Youngmin closed the door in a huff.

#

It had been a month and a half since that embarrassing encounter.

But who has been counting? Psh, Not me, obviously. It's not like I kind of regretted saying no to Woobin basically pouring his heart out to me or anything.

Who was I kidding? I regretted it completely.

Valentine's Day was nearby, and my friends were completely and utterly chaotic. JanDi had a chocolate recipe that she had been working on for about a solid week.

"Ooh, extra chocolate!" I smiled, before seeing the messed up chocolate that JanDi designed. I reached over to eat the one that seemed to have curly hair and a messed up smiley-face, only to be swatted aggressively by JanDi's hand.

"Ow!" I pouted.

"Those aren't extras, Sohee! They were made special for somebody else." JanDi scrunched up her nose playfully.

"Fine, I'll just take some from Gaeul's batch." I childishly crossed my arms. Gaeul gave a sound of objection before I could walk over.

"I made those to give to somebody I'm very thankful for." She shyly bowed her head down as she wrapped the chocolate up. I furrowed my brows, thinking about who that could possibly be before giving a frustrated noise and crossing my arms.

"Ah, no fair. Both of my friends are lovesick." I playfully whined, and JanDi shook her head at my playful banter.

"You should get Woobin something!" Gaeul thought suddenly, and JanDi perked up.

Now that they mentioned it, Woobin didn't have the most fondest memory of any Holiday. Maybe I should do something nice for him.

"You're right, I should!" I trailed off, before shaking my head.

"What if he still has harsh feelings towards me? I still regret rejecting him a lot." I sighed, before huffing.

"He would understand more than anybody." JanDi reassured, making me smile.

As soon as a customer walked into the restaurant, I knew that I should let the girls focus on their work, and gave a quick bow.

"I'll be on my way!" I shouted, before rushing out of the store, and dialing on my phone.

Once I separated from the two girls, I came to a sudden realization:

What could I do for him?

I knew that I had to ask somebody for help.

#

So Yijung was somebody that was quite trustworthy. Ever since we were children, he had always been the closest to Woobin.

As soon as I called him, he seemed surprised to hear from me. Mainly because we don't talk too much individually even though we are usually around each other all of the time. Once he heard about what I wanted to do, he perked up immediately and wanted to help as much as possible.

"I think it's sweet that you want to get something for Woobin." Yijung commented, before sitting down on the white couch in my livingroom.

"Ah, it's nothing, really." I interjected, before pressing my lips into a thin line. I didn't want Yijung to misunderstand my intentions of giving Woobin a gift.

Yijung raised his brow at my quick response and shook his head playfully.

"Well, it's going to mean a lot to him." He commented, with a grimace of a smirk on his face.

"Do you have any idea for a gift? It's been driving me crazy all day." I puffed out my cheeks. Yijung glanced my way before smiling.

"I'll tell you a story about Woobin." Yijung began, before continuing.

"As long as you don't tell Woobin that I told you. He's really sensitive about the topic." He finished, and I gave a quick nod.

"I promise!" I nodded, already engaged in what Yijung was about to say.

"Woobin has only really had one real relationship." Yijung bluntly started. I raised my eyebrows at the statement, until I realized that I've never seen Woobin with another girl, aside from flirting.

"And one Valentine's Day, His girlfriend, Yeonhee, Decided that she would break up with him, and move to Europe." He continued, before I made a noise in disbelief.

"That's so sad..." I trailed off.

"And after that, whenever the holiday comes up, he just stays home all day doesn't talk to anyone. " Yijung finished.

"That's terrible." I muttered before crossing my arms.

"I wish I could bring Valentine's Day to him, instead of him always being alone and sulking all day." Yijung shrugged before crossing his arms. The phrasing of his sentence made my ears perk up.

That's it!

I gave an audible gasp, making Yijung jump a bit.

"That's it! I'll bring Valentine's Day to him! You're a genius!" I excitedly clasped my hands together. Yijung blinked confusedly, not catching on to what I meant.

"I'll bring over a cake for him! And a gift! I think he would appreciate that..." I trailed off, before hearing Yijung chuckle to himself.

"You guys are adorable." He smiled mostly to himself, before walking off.

"I'll be leaving first!" He shouted before closing the door behind him. I blinked for a second before crossing my arms.

Before I had time to think about it, my phone buzzed in my pocket. When I picked it up, and looked at the ID, my blood ran cold.

#

Something about Gu Junpyo's mother has always made my skin crawl.

And when Ms. Kang called me into the office of their estate, I knew that I had a terrible feeling about it. Subconsciously, I put on my absolute best clothes and attitude, and cursed myself in my head multiple times.

"What did Junpyo do this time?" I asked myself, while biting my nail.

As soon as I stepped into her office, she seemed expectant. While tapping her manicured red nails on the desk, she looked up at me. Her polite, fakely-bright smile peeked out of her thin, red lips.

"Kim Sohee, welcome. Take a seat." She pointed to the seat in front of her, anxiously making me sit down.

"You're an honest girl. I appreciate that." She began, making my eyebrows furrow.

"Yes Ma'am-" I began, before she interjected.

"So I need you to tell me: What exactly are Geum JanDi and Junpyo?" She asked, making me blink, taken aback. She handed me photos of Junpyo giving JanDi a piggy-back ride. Junpyo obviously looking bewildered.

How did she find out?

I hesitated. "As far as I know, they're just friends." I answered honestly. Ms. Kang looked into my eyes to see any hint of insincerity in my eyes. When she couldn't find any, she chuckled to herself.

"I want you to break up whatever this may be. " Her laughter suddenly stopped, her face hardening.

"That's not for me to dictate." I politely declined. I defensively crossed my arms, because I knew what she was trying to imply.

Ms. Kang has wanted me to be with Junpyo for a very long time.

When she realized that we wouldn't click in any way possible, she still never gave up, hinting that bringing us together would "better help expand our families."

"If you don't, it may not work in your favor, or your friend's favor to be more specific." Ms. Kang specified, threatening JanDi's well-being.

I stood up, and immediately interjected. "I've heard enough." I turned my back to her, and began to walk out of the room.

"You're going to regret this." She simply stated.

The calmness in her voice gave me goosebumps.

I managed to put my lips into a tight line and walk out, as though I had no second guesses.

#

The next day, I was an anxious mess.

I had resorted to chipping off all of my nail polish just to bite my nails, and it was completely unlike me.

As I walked down the silent corridor of the music hall, I heard somebody playing the piano towards our Black Box Theater. As far as I knew, nobody signed up to use it for rehearsal, and most of the music students had lunch around this time. I curiously walked over to the Theater, and walked down the aisle to see who was playing.

Yoon Jihoo focused on the piano keys with delicacy. I could tell that he was more of a Violin player, but his piano skills were almost as great. I watched in awe as he made playing look so effortless. He seemed to notice that somebody was watching, because he immediately looked over to who it was.

He seemed to be expecting somebody else, possibly JanDi, but his face kept a certain type of friendliness when he saw that it was me.

"Do you have concert tickets?" Jihoo jokingly asked, and I playfully scoffed.

"You messed up at the end, I want my money back." I joked. Jihoo gave a small chuckle, before patting the seat next to him. I approached him hesitantly before taking the seat next to him. My face began to heat up, and I quickly shook the feeling off. I've never been this close to him before.

"Well, if you're not going to pay for my concert, can you turn pages for me?" He asked, his voice was completely gentle and quiet, and I nodded almost immediately.

Once he began playing, I recognized the song immediately and began playing the higher notes of it. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Jihoo was staring at me instead of the music, but I tried to nod it off, until he suddenly stopped and lifted up one of my hands.

The gesture made my body feel as though I was being electrocuted.

"What happened to your nails?" He asked, looking at my bitten nails. I sighed, before letting it all out.

"mskangtoldmethatshewantedmetobreakjunpyoandjandiupandihaveabadfeel-" I started crying once I started mentioning it, and all of the wailing made the words jumbled up. Jihoo seemed bewildered by my tears, and didn't seem to know what to do.

"Woah, slow down." He gave me an awkward pat on the back.

I'm such a mess.

I was able to stop crying enough to say what was wrong. "Junpyo's mother told me that she wanted JanDi and Junpyo broken up, or else!" I put my fingers up to my lips before realizing that there isn't any more nail for me to bite. Jihoo saw what I was trying to do and gently took my hand away from my face.

"She told me to break them up, but when I said I wouldn't, she threatened JanDi. I've been so anxious because I haven't seen her all day." I pouted, crossing my arms. Jihoo looked as if he was in thought.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her all day as well." He concluded, as he suddenly stood up.

"I'll see if she's around." He gave a bow of his head, before heading off.

I still got that weird, aching feeling that never seemed to go away.

#  
It was Valentine's Day.

It was a new experience for me to actually go out of my way to celebrate the holiday. I didn't even attempt to for HyunKi; The only thing I gave him was an expensive couple bracelet that he ended up losing after a few days.

Woobin was always so caring, something worth more than a tacky couple bracelet that cost hundreds of dollars.

I anxiously headed over to his apartment. I even texted a "where-are-you-but-please-don't-be-suspicious-because-I-asked" text message to make sure that he was there.

As soon as I arrived to his apartment door, I dialed his number.

'Act natural.' I thought to myself as he answered.

"Hello?" He answered, sounding as though he didn't really want to pick up the phone.

"Open your door!" I playfully whined. He paused for a second, before realizing that I was outside.

"What if I don't want to?" He playfully asked, before I heard him unlock his door.

Once he opened the door, his eyebrows raised at what was in my hands; A gift bag and a cake.

"Kim Sohee, What is all of this?" His face looked utterly surprised, as I sat the bags on one of his tables.

"Well, I heard that Valentine's Day wasn't a good holiday for you, so I wanted to help you out!" I gave a smile, and handed the gift bag to him. He stared at the bag, and back at me.

"Don't stare at it, Open it!" I joked. He chucked at me before taking out what was inside of the bag.

He glanced back at the bag before taking out what was inside; A single photo from when we were both much younger that I thought would give him a nice laugh. We both had to be about 7 or 8, and he smashed cake into my face at my birthday party.

As soon as he took a look at the silly photo, he automatically broke out into laughter.

"Oh my god, this is so ancient!" He smiled, looking intensively at the photo.

"I didn't want to give you something materialistic like clothes or jewelry, so I wanted to give you something that you would actually remember and laugh about." I explained, and the gesture made him smile.

It wasn't a smile that I've ever seen before. It was pure, genuine, and thankful.

He pulled me into a hug that I didn't reject at all. The sudden contact did make me feel antsy, but I knew that he was just thankful.

"You have no idea how much this means to me." He pulled me out of the hug and looked at me, straight in the eyes. I curiously looked into his eyes, waiting for him to continue and say something, but I failed to notice that he began to lean in.

"It was nothing, really. I just didn't want you to feel lonel-" I couldn't finish the sentence because I was cut off by a pair of lips touching mines.

At least this time, I didn't slam head-first into his jaw.

Do you know those movies that when a kissing scene happens, it feels as though the whole world stops, and it goes in slow motion, and the camera pans from different angles dramatically?

It kind of felt like that when he pressed his lips against mines, although it didn't feel as though it was in slow motion because there was some cheesy music in the background. It felt like slow motion because neither of us wanted to end it.

I finally let go after a while, and there was a silence. Woobin seemed shocked by what he just did, and I could tell that he was guilty when he saw the look in my face, and the lack of words.

"I am so sorry, Sohee. I just... " He began, not even able to look me in the eyes.

I've wanted to do that for a while." He sounded sincere when he admitted this, and I shook my head to motion that it was okay.

"N-no, it's fine, I'm just surprised!" I admitted, knowing that my face had to be a very bright red out of embarrassment.

"I like it." I softly stated, before looking down, so I couldn't see his reaction when I said that.

"Really?" He asked, surprised that I thought that way, and I looked up at him, quickly nodding.

"It's a bit awkward for me to admit but I really regretted rejecting you. I'm sorry for comparing you to my ex." I honestly apologized.

"It is hard for me to trust, and I hope that you can be patient with me, and maybe we can take things at our own pace..." I trailed off, hoping that he would get the hint that I would like the idea of a relationship.

His face lit up once I said the last statement, as if he had been waiting for me to say something like this for a very long time.

"I hope that I will be able to get to know you even more while we take it slowly." He smiled.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Ahhh it's been such a long while, I'm so sorry! I study music and it consumes my life ;;; My biggest apologies for anyone who was waiting for a few months._**

 ** _Sooo things are finally starting to take off! Sohee and Woobin are a thing-ish? and Junpyo's mother is still plotting in the shadows._**

 ** _Hopefully I will not get side-tracked for a while ;; I'm still very sorry!_**

 ** _Until next chapter!_**


	12. Episode 11

#

"Mrs. Kang is an evil witch for what she did to you." I sighed, listening to JanDi's story about how she came to her house.

As soon as I heard how deflated she was on the phone, I decided to invite her over immediately. She seemed overwhelmed by my home, and I reassured her by handing her a blanket and some tea. We sat practically in silence, and her tears finally seemed to stop falling after a few minutes of us talking.

"Now our Dry Cleaning shop has been evicted, and I have no idea what to do. We even tried selling hot coffee and squid..." She trailed off, looking absolutely devastated. I wanted to help her more than anything, but when she saw my expression, she immediately shook her head.

"Please, don't help me. I'm already burdensome enough for Junpyo's family. He literally jumped out of his car in traffic to kiss me." She puffed out her cheeks, and my face brightened up.

"That's news!" I smiled at her, and gave her a light pat on the back.

"I think...we're officially together now, but I can't help but think that this is the calm before the storm." She commented, while looking down.

"Junpyo is strong, and quite stubborn. Whatever that hag is trying to do, I don't think he'll care one bit." I reassured, and she nodded.

"I don't think it's Junpyo's willpower that I have to worry about." She honestly stated, while looking up at me.

#

"What is all of this exactly?" I curiously asked, as Junpyo set down a bunch of good-smelling items near the Shinhwa swimming pool. Yijung and Woobin also stood in curiosity, while Junpyo seemed satisfied with himself.

"It smells good, right? Her skin will be surprised once she steps into the pool." He chuckled to himself.

"Because of Geum JanDi, the school's pool is going to become a scented hot spring." Yijung joked.

"How long will you have to peel away at this? Wouldn't it be better if you just poured hot spring water in it?" Woobin chuckled, and Junpyo took it seriously.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He asked to himself, before continuing.

"It pisses me off that this is the only thing that I can do for her right now..." He trailed off.

The 3 of us exchanged glances when Junpyo said this, not knowing what to say afterwards. Junpyo quickly stood after a while, and walked off.

"Ah, what do we do...?" I asked, with a huff, while looking up at the two.

"Sadly, there isn't much that we can do, we just have to wait." Woobin commented, with a sigh.

"I just have a feeling that this is going to be a very messy week." Yijung suddenly stated, and I nodded in agreement.

#

"Ahhh what a cutie!" I excitedly exclaimed, as I poked the cheeks of Sungmi, my sister's newborn daughter.

I didn't see much of SoMin after she had her baby because she was mostly exhausted and in the hospital, but as soon as she came home, she seemed to have recovered quickly and healthily.

Sungmi looked up at me and blankly stared, as if she was trying to stare into my soul. Once a TV commercial came on, Sungmi stopped analyzing me, and looked over, giving a gummy smile at the TV.

"Ah, even Sungmi is starstruck because of Haje," Somin shook her head in disbelief.

"Hajae? I don't think I've heard of him..." I trailed off, as Youngmin passed by and gave me a very strange glance.

"You haven't heard of him...?" He asked, and when he saw my blank stare, he continued.

"All of the girls at Shinhwa have gone crazy about him since last week! Apparently he's some freelance model, or "mysterious" as every girl calls him." He rolled his eyes, before sitting next to me, and looking at Sungmi.

Sungmi stared at him, before getting antsy in my arms, making a face as if she was about to cry.

"Well, I don't like you either!" Youngmin stuck out his tongue playfully, before earning a smack from Somin. Youngmin pouted, and the gesture made Sungmi laugh.

"See? Your pain brings her joy!" Somin laughed, and I couldn't help but join in.

#

"Hey, stranger!" I waved to JanDi, who was ahead of me, and ran up to her. She jumped when she heard my voice, but seemed relieved that it was only me.

"O-oh Sohee!" She smiled, with a slight bow. I smiled at her, and we began to walk together. Suddenly, she held her stomach and paused, making me curiously look over at her.

"Are you alright?" I asked, and she quickly nodded.

"I'm so hungry," She began, with a bored sigh.

"How do I manage to get hungrier while not doing much?" She shook her head at her own logic. I laughed at that, and she paused again, seeming to smell something, before walking off.

"Geum JanDi...?" I asked, before following along. When we made it to the corridor, I began to smell what she was smelling.

As soon as she found the source of the smell, she poked her head into an empty classroom. It had a ramen cooker, and many bags of ramen were scattered nearby. JanDi took a look back at me, and I shook my head, knowing what she was thinking of doing.

"Whoever you are, your ramen is done!" She shouted, while ducking her head before continuing.

"If you let it keep going, it'll get soggy..." She trailed off before looking side to side, and closing the door with her leg. I raised my eyebrow as she sat over the ramen cooker.

"Are you sure that this is a smart idea...?" I asked her while tilting my head to the side. Before I could even get my sentence out,her head was practically inside of the pot.

There was a silence for a second, until the door opened. JanDi froze, and I looked over to the tall student, wearing glasses, who seemed just as confused.

"I..." She trailed off.

The student and JanDi had a quick, and confusing stare down. He looked as though he knew her, though, and tenderly stared down at her. I took note of that very quickly.

"This...this was _yours,_ wasn't it?" She awkwardly asked.

He bowed wholeheartedly in response, before walking over.

"Let me introduce myself formally, Geum JanDi-sunbaenim." He respectfully stated.

"I'm Lee JaeHa, and I'm a freshman here." He introduced himself, and I raised both of my brows.

"A-a freshman!? Your face is very mature!" I commented, earning a sheepish smile from him.

"Ah, I'm sorry for not introducing myself! My name is Kim S-" I started to introduce myself, before I was respectfully interrupted.

"Kim Sohee-sunbaenim. Honestly, I've been a huge fan of Geum JanDi, so I've heard your name a lot." He bowed to me.

"A fan!" JanDi gasped, not thinking that anyone would be a fan of her.

"You are Shinhwa's Joan of Arc; The commoner's heroine whose resisting the forces of the F4." He stated, making JanDi uncomfortably giggle.

"The commoner's heroine" may be a bit too much," She swatted the compliment off.

"By the way, I couldn't recognize you while you looked like that." She gave a friendly smile, making it apparent that they both knew each other.

"Truthfully, I don't like anybody here. I don't want to make any friends, so it's my goal to not be noticed until graduation." He finished, and I laughed at that, relating completely.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked, and I apologetically looked over.

"I was laughing because I could relate! JanDi and I became friends because of this." I commented, and JaeHa's face brightened.

"Really!? I thought that we were similar too!" He smiled, while looking at JanDi.

"At this school, I thought that you and I were the only ones in the same world." He commented at JanDi, and I began to feel like quite the 3rd wheel.

"In the same world...? Well... I mean, I did eat your ramen." She commented, pointing to the pot, making JaeHa laugh.

The look in his eyes was something that I couldn't explain, but something was definitely off.

#

After school, JanDi cleared out her locker before heading out, and I couldn't help but make a comment about JaeHa to her.

"That kid..." I started, making JanDi look at me.

"There's something odd about him." I bluntly stated, sounding a bit harsher than I meant. JanDi gave a chuckle, before replying.

"I think he's kind of sweet." She laughed, looking up and I curiously looked over at her, making her glance back at me.

"...What?" She asked, and I nudged her in a friendly manner.

"Nothing, I just didn't know that you had such a secret admirer." I smiled to myself, and JanDi quickly shook her head.

"No no, it's not like that!" She shook her head, as Junpyo waved to JanDi in the distance at the parking lot.

She seemed a bit hesitant walking over, but once we did, Junpyo's smile began, and it was a smile that I've never seen out of Junpyo; Tender, and, dare I say, gentle.

"It's been hard finding you today." Junpyo commented, and JanDi hesitantly smiled.

"Gu Junpyo..." She trailed off.

"Let's go to Hokkaido this weekend, they have the best crab in all of Japan." He suddenly commented, before opening the backseat of his diver's car.

"Let's go." He stated, with a caring smile.

"Ah, I'm jealous. Japan for an entire weekend, just eating crab." I stated, thinking that it was a pretty darn good idea.

"Why do you want to go to Hokkaido, just for the crab...?" She asked, not seeming to like the idea. I surprisingly raised both of my eyebrows.

"It's the weekend." Junpyo smiled, while glancing at her.

"We can look at the snow too. But, if you don't like crab, we can go to Sapporo and eat Udon or Ramen." He suggested, and I tried to lighten the mood.

"I've never seen this side of you before. It'll take some getting used to." I commented, when JanDi suddenly spoke up.

"I can't go." She shook her head, and Junpyo frustratingly groaned.

"You always can't. Just this once, can't you say yes?" He slightly whined. JanDi seemed as though she was thinking of an excuse not to go, and it was concerning to me.

"I have...plans-"

"What plans?" Junpyo asked almost immediately after, making JanDi pause.

"Today is Gaeul's birthday." She responded, making me furrow my brows. I thought that Gaeul's birthday wasn't until April.

"...What?" Junpyo asked, just as confused as I was.

"I spend the night at her house every year, it's a 10-year unbroken tradition." She shakily smiled. Junpyo crossed his arms.

"Well, whose more important, me or Gaeul?" Junpyo asked, and I already knew that Gaeul was.

"Gaeul." JanDi answered truthfully, before giving a smile afterwards.

"Well, I'll be off!" JanDi shouted, before dragging me along.

"I thought that Gaeul's birthday was in April..." I commented, and JanDi immediately hushed me.

"Hey!" Junpyo shouted, before giving up when JanDi didn't look back.

This was going to be a very messy week, just like Yijung said.

#

Once that weird encounter happened, I had to vent to somebody.

Woobin seemed to not mind that I wanted to visit him, and even said that it would be nice to vent to him anytime. He even let me sit on his bed while he sat on the floor, even when I told him that he didn't have to.

"I'm just concerned about JanDi..." I sighed, while hugging my knees, and he curiously glanced at me, waiting for me to continue.

"Today isn't Gaeul's birthday," I admitted, and Woobin raised his brow.

"Did I miss something today?" He asked, and I nodded immediately after.

"JanDi lied to Junpyo so she wouldn't have to spend the weekend in Japan with him, and she wouldn't tell me why or what she was up to this weekend," I huffed.

"Usually we can tell each other anything, but she's been really distant lately..." I trailed off, before pouting, something that I don't do often.

"Maybe it's something that she's too embarrassed to admit." He suggested, before throwing a pillow my way. I caught it when it hit my face, and threw it back playfully.

"It doesn't feel like that, but I really hope so...Junpyo is really trying to make things work with her." I finished, and he agreed.

"I think that it's cute that you're so concerned." He mused, making me flustered.

"T-this isn't about me...!" I threw a pillow at him, making him chuckle. He suddenly got a phone call that he had to take.

"Father?" I listened in on the conversation and silently cursed myself for being so nosy.

"Now?" He asked, glancing back at me, while I was trying to seem as though I was occupied with something else.

"I know, I know." He seemed irritated once he said that, and hung up suddenly, before walking back in.

"I'm sorry, something suddenly came up with my father..." He seemed bothered, before picking up his coat, and handing me my purse.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and he didn't seem to want to answer, and put on his coat, before looking at me.

"I'll drive you home." He quickly offered, and I nodded, my lips creasing into a thin line.

"Sure." Was the last thing that either of us said to each other, and I wasn't questioning anything anymore because I didn't want to pry, and he already seemed bothered.

"I swear I will make it up to you. I will play 'Careless Whisper' outside of your window when you least expect it." He tried to joke, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, fine. But you owe me an explanation when that happens."

"Deal." He smiled, though it wasn't the usual one that I was used to seeing.

#

"Everyone seems quiet today." Yijung commented, as the F4 and I exchanged glances while drinking tea.

I hadn't said much to Woobin after what happened the night before, though he gave me glances, and I smiled reassuringly in return.

Junpyo was quietly in his own world, grinning to himself, while Jihoo silently sipped on his tea with his usual expression.

It was like an awkward family breakfast.

"Especially you, Junpyo." Yijung commented, and Junpyo curiously looked up at him.

"You were complaining yesterday that it was hard to keep in touch with JanDi, and now you're silent." He stated, with a grin on his face.

"I'm changing my strategy." Junpyo smiled, and I curiously raised my eyebrows, not before getting a text message from a number that I didn't recognize.

 **PRIVATE NUMBER:** _[Sent a Photo]_

At first I ignored the message, while hearing the others talk, until I got another message.

 **PRIVATE NUMBER:** _It's JanDi._

Once I saw JanDi's name I couldn't help but look. When I opened the message and saw that it was JanDi, in nothing but a button down shirt, taking photos with a male model. I looked down at the logo, and saw that it said 'Haje.'

My brain suddenly realized why JaeHa seemed so off.

JaeHa was _Haje._

 _That's why he said that he didn't want to be noticed._

I glanced up at Junpyo, who seemed startled by my sudden stare and the look in my eyes.

"What is it?" He asked, looking down at my phone, having seen the photo.

"I got a weird message." I answered, knowing that I couldn't lie about what I just saw. Junpyo suddenly reached over and grabbed my phone, studying the photo closely, before fuming, and throwing the phone across the room and having it practically shatter on the wall, before storming out.

"God damnit, Junpyo." Woobin muttered, before everyone else started getting up to follow him out.

Once we made it out, JanDi already seemed as though she was a deer in headlights, with JaeHa by her side. Jihoo seemed as though he expected this to happen, because the look he gave JaeHa seemed as though they had an altercation.

"Geum JanDi. You seemed to have really grown up. Tell me: Was the reason why you didn't want to go to Japan with me because you were parading around doing this with him?" Junpyo asked, with a cold stare towards the two.

JanDi couldn't even look him in the eyes, and I shook my head while looking down.

"You can't reason with me and tell me that he's Gaeul." Junpyo stare hardened.

"Or, was it _his_ birthday instead?" Junpyo commented, making me glance up at JanDi.

"I'm sorry that I lied. That was my fault, but I can explain just plea-" JanDi began, before being cut off by JaeHa's bitter chuckle.

"What's so funny to you?" Junpyo asked, looking as though he was about to walk up on JaeHa.

"It's funny that you have so little confidence in your girlfriend. And, before you get jealous: Shouldn't you first understand what situation she's in?" JaeHa asked in a 'Know-it-all' type of way.

As soon as the last word left JaeHa's mouth, Junpyo walked up to him and swing, punching him in the face, and JaeHa didn't fight back, which I noticed once the first swing was initiated.

Junpyo didn't stop though, until JaeHa was on the ground, and his nose was covered with his own blood. Once JaeHa was on the ground, Junpyo finally spoke again.

"Who are you to be starting all of this?" He asked JaeHa, and JaeHa responded with a glare.

"JanDi is wasted on the likes of you." He hoarsely commented, before one more punch knocked him out.

"Stop!" JanDi finally shouted.

Junpyo glanced at her before getting up and walking towards her.

"He was someone who helped me outside of school, and was a good friend. And at school, he was the only friend that I could share my thoughts with." JanDi looked up at Junpyo as she said this, and I looked at her directly, with my brows furrowed, the words that she said stinging in my heart.

 _I thought that she would feel that way towards me._

"The only?" Junpyo shook as he spoke those two words, taking the words that I was thinking right out of my mind.

He suddenly grabbed her harshly, making me jump in defense.

"Be clear with me. What is he to you?" Junpyo asked sternly.

"I can't breathe-"

"Say it!"

"It's too hard." Was all that she could say, in the calmest voice that I've heard her speak in.

"Let's just...not do this anymore." JanDi hesitantly looked away.

"Geum JanDi!-"

"I want to go back to the time before I knew the F4, Shinhwa, and Gu Junpyo." She looked down as she said this, and Junpyo let go immediately, before giving her the coldest glare that even I've seen.

"You've got your wish." Was all that Junpyo said, before walking off, the F4 following right after.

JanDi stood frozen, before looking up at me, a tear falling from her eye.

"When you said..." I began, while walking towards JanDi in a gentle way.

"That he was the only one who understood, did you mean me too?" My voice cracked as I said this, and JanDi looked up at me, her stare more hardened.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, Sohee, but there are things that even you can't understand because you aren't like us." She honestly stated, making me take in the sting of that comment.

"I couldn't understand that you needed help? I couldn't understand that you were stressing yourself out, and trying to make ends meet? I understand you all the time, JanDi-" I started, in the most understanding tone I could give, before getting cut off.

"You're rich, and I'm not. You can get everything you want, and I can't. You don't understand having to work different jobs to sustain your family, or being a commoner." She stated bluntly, taking me aback.

I froze when she told me these things, as though they were building up inside of her mind and now was the time that she wanted to say it.

"I was being truthful when I said this: I want to go back to the time before I met the F4, before Shinhwa. Before everything was difficult because of status." She looked down as she said this, as though she wanted to vent.

I hesitantly swallowed before saying something.

"I may not live the same life as you, JanDi, but I understand you. If you think that I cared about status while I listened to you, and understood you, then maybe we weren't really friends in the first place." My eyes began to sting as I said that, and she turned around to walk away before I could say something else.

I was _hurt_ , truthfully hurt.

JanDi was somebody that I could understand with all of my heart, and even if I didn't live her life, I never came off as privileged and I always listened to her, and I always wanted to be there for her, because she was the reason why I began to smile again.

Maybe I put too much faith into us having one thing in common.

#

It was around 12:30am.

I definitely couldn't sleep after what happened today, and I still had my lights on, while having my blankets over my head, only for my eyes to peep out for me to watch television.

Friendship break ups are worse than actual break ups.

It's as though you invest your time more into a friendship than a relationship at times, and as soon as an argument happens, or if you lose that friend, it gets very lonely.

Suddenly, I heard music outside of my window.

I had to mute my television to be able to properly hear what it was, or to see if I was just going crazy and hearing things.

"Is that...Careless Whisper?" I asked to myself, before glancing out of the window, and laughing once I saw Woobin playing the song through a speaker.

"Song Woobin!?" I asked, once I opened the window to my room.

He was singing along (incredibly off key) while waving up to me to the beat of the music.

"Okay, okay I'm coming down! Now can you stop before Youngmin calls the police?" I asked, before chuckling and picking up my robe.

I stealthily walked down the stairs, and opened the front door to see Woobin sitting on the stairs at my yard. I motioned for him to come inside, and he followed me to the living room, and I turned on the lights in the room, while he sat on the couch.

I sat next to him wordlessly, before glancing over and shaking my head.

"Okay, you were right. I didn't expect this at all at 12:30am." I chuckled, before looking over and seeing that he was deep in thought.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, and he sighed in response.

"There was a reason why I came here." He began, a bit more seriously than his joking attitude earlier.

"I couldn't stay at my Father's for another second. So I came where I knew he wouldn't find me." He commented, while looking across the room.

"His lifestyle isn't one that I would want, even though he forces it on me all the time." He finished, looking at my curious glance.

"Was that what that night was about?" I asked, and he nodded.

"He's a criminal in my eyes. All of the money that he's earned has been completely done by illegal underground work. He even uses his girlfriends and wives only for their money." He shook his head, before continuing.

"There are things that I wish I didn't have to see when I was younger because of him." He commented, looking down this time.

"I don't know what to say, because I haven't experienced what you have, but..." I started, having him look at me.

"I understand, and I'm glad that you don't want to do what he does." I smiled at him to give him reassurance.

"Thank you for understanding." Woobin commented, while glancing back at me. I scooted over to put my head on his shoulder.

"Sometimes I feel like understanding can never be enough." I mumbled to myself, but I was pretty sure Woobin heard when I said that.

"It's enough for me." He said, a bit absentmindedly, as though he didn't mean to say it out loud. I smiled at the nice gesture before standing up and stretching.

"You can stay here tonight, if you're worried about your father." I offered, and Woobin blinked repeatedly once I said this.

"Like...Stay the night?" Woobin asked, making me laugh at his dirty mind.

"Get your mind out of the gutter I have a guest room, unless you think the couch is comfortable enough." I joked, and Woobin seemed to turn red.

"I'll take the guest room, then."

* * *

 **A/N: So, I might have written this in under 48 hours while drinking a lot of caffeine and I might be crashing right now, but honestly I have most of these episodes pre-written from an old fanfic so I'm just rewriting and adding things in that I think were really relevant to the story.**

 **Until next time!**


	13. Episode 12

#

"Geum JanDi has the red card again?"

"She's the only one whose gotten it twice!"

"Why isn't Sohee around her anymore? Did she get sick of that commoner?"

"I heard JanDi left Junpyo for another commoner. How trashy."

The gossip in the hallway was enough to make my head spin.

Once I came into my classroom, I hesitantly walked in, because JanDi and I shared the class with Ginger, Miranda, and Sunny (Or as everyone called them now: The Gin-Mi-Sun trio). Usually I would hear the banter of the trio, but they seemed oddly quiet.

I sat on the chair at my desk, only for them to walk over and sit on top the desk.

"I guess we were right about that cheap JanDi." Ginger gave a smug smile, and I looked up at her in response. I couldn't bring myself to speak.

"Things are finally back to the way they should be!" Sunny smiled, giving a satisfied sigh.

Their banter was cut off by the door opening, and JanDi walking in. As soon as she looked over to me, I looked away. She walked over to her desk, which I didn't notice was completely gone.

"JanDi, what's wrong?"

"Your desk is gone? Poor thing."

"She doesn't have a chair either."

"How pathetic."

JanDi kept a straight face throughout all of the taunting, and turned around to leave.

"Bye JanDi~" The girls taunted, and gave a witchy laugh while high-fiving each other.

That was the last time I saw JanDi this week.

#

Once I looked at the caller I.D of who was calling me after school, my eyebrows furrowed. I put my glasses on and still put my phone close to my eyes to make sure that I was correct.

It was Yoon Jihoo.

I hesitantly answered, because I don't talk to Jihoo much outside of school. "Hello?" I asked, the confusion in my voice more obvious than I would have liked it.

"Have you spoken to Geum JanDi at all today?" He directly asked, and I was taken aback by the sudden question.

"I haven't spoken to her since Junpyo confronted her. She didn't seem to want me around anymore." I began, before trailing off.

"...Why? Is there something wrong...?" I asked hesitantly.

"I heard that she fainted earlier...and that Lee Jaeha took her, but..." He began. "Her phone is off, and it worries me."

"If I'm honest, I don't trust JaeHa that much, so it doesn't surprise me that you're concerned." I contemplated, hoping that JanDi was alright.

"Does Junpyo know about this?" I asked.

"He's not answering his phone, either." He confirmed, making me even more nervous.

"We all need to meet up immediately." I sternly said. JanDi may not want to see any of us, but if she's in danger, we're going to help her.

"Already on it." Jihoo hung up after that phrase.

#

"Has anyone been able to contact Junpyo?" Jihoo asked, looking at the three of us; Woobin, Yijung, and I. It had been uncharacteristically quiet for all of us, our minds trying to process that something serious could be happening at the moment, and we wouldn't know what.

"I've called every place that I could think of without luck." Woobin sighed, and shook his head.

"What is JanDi's relationship with that kid anyways?" Yijung asked, before glancing at me, so that I could answer the question.

"Is their relationship over for real this time?" Woobin asked while staring in the distance.

"They seemed friendly with each other, but JanDi knew that she was in a relationship. She wouldn't lead Junpyo on like he thought she did." I defended, truthfully answering.

"Hey! Who do you think you are to be able to look for the F4?" I heard Ginger's annoying voice near the entrance.

"Oh god, why is she even here?" I asked, rolling my eyes, and walking over. I saw Gaeul at the entrance, and stood at the door.

"I'm sorry Gaeul, is this lady bothering you?" I asked, and Gaeul seemed distraught, and bewildered.

Ginger looked over to me with a glare, before scoffing and walking off. I led Gaeul in, and she seemed completely panicked and shaking, like a leaf that would be swept away by the wind at any second.

"Gaeul? What are you doing here?" Yijung asked, completely concerned by her appearance.

"Please help me." She began, alarming all of us.

"JanDi hasn't even come to work today, her phone is off and I called her house and they said that they got a call saying that JanDi was with you guys." She began to cry when she said this, and I immediately hugged her.

"I can assure you that she isn't with us, but this is a bit suspicious." I frowned, making her cry harder. I looked up at the others, and each of us exchanged glances.

"We have to head out and find out what's going on." Woobin stood, and everyone followed outwards to the parking lot.

#

"Hey, Chief Lee." Woobin began, while keeping focused on the road. I sat in the passenger's seat, watching as he spoke with a hint of urgency while still keeping a stoic appearance.

"It's me. I need you to find somebody urgently." He began, before correcting himself.

"-Two people."

"Yes. Get everybody searching for them." He finished, before hanging up. I silently bit my nails, and tears began to fall.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh with her..." I suddenly said, while looking out into the road.

"Did I miss something between...?" He trailed off, not knowing if he should ask.

"I asked her if she didn't think I understood her, and she said that I couldn't, because I'm not like her, and she wished that she went to a time before she went to Shinhwa. And..." I trailed off.

"I told her that if she felt that way, that maybe we weren't really friends in the first place...and she walked away." I sighed. "I just hope she's okay, I'm really worried..."

I wiped my eyes after this, and everything fell silent as I glanced out of the window.

"JanDi was just upset. She knows more than anybody how understanding you are." Woobin commented, trying to cheer me up.

"It doesn't matter at the moment. I just want her to be okay." I looked down.

I suddenly felt a hand hold mines, and looked up to see Woobin with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding mines. I could feel myself turn red at the small gesture.

#

"The Young Master said that nobody should come in-" The butler of the mansion pointed out, as we ran past him.

"Don't worry, if he makes a fuss, we'll deal with it." Woobin respectfully told the butler, as we all ran over to Junpyo's door.

"Gu Junpyo, open up!"

"Stop playing around!"

"It's important!"

All of us shouted to the door to no avail.

"Something's weird about this." Woobin furrowed his brows after trying to listen in for any noise. Each of us glanced to the butler, who took it as a signal to open the door, and we hastily ran in.

"Is he even in here?" I asked, until Yijung stopped, looking at something.

"Guys, over here."

He pointed to the open window near Junpyo's bed.

"As soon as he came home today, he seemed troubled by a weird letter." The butler walked over to us, with a face full of concern.

"A letter?" Jihoo asked, making each of us glance at each other. The butler reached over to where the envelope was at, and handed it over.

"There's an address on it." Jihoo stated after examining the paper inside of the envelope. Yijung glanced over to me.

"Sohee, if we end up going to Junpyo, would you please look after Gaeul?" Yijung asked, and Woobin also glanced over when that question was asked.

"We definitely cannot take you with us because it might be dangerous, so that would make me feel a lot better as well." Woobin joined in, and I nodded.

"Of course." I nodded, looking up at Woobin, who seemed a lot more relieved that I was staying back.

"Alright, we have to head out." Jihoo hurriedly walked towards the exit, the rest of us following.

"Be careful." I nodded towards Woobin, who gave a small smile in reply before following the others out.

#

As soon as I heard that JanDi was in the hospital, I had to rush over. I got the best gift basket that I could get; the one full of fruit in the shape of flowers in a bouquet.

When I walked up to open the door, I had to struggle to open it because of how huge the basket was, but someone opened it for me. I looked up to see Jihoo, who was also carrying a very pink gift basket in his hand. I immediately gave a friendly smile and bowed.

"Yoon Jihoo!" I greeted, and he gave a calm smile and a bow in return.

"I guess we had the same idea today." He commented, while we walked down the hall together.

"As soon as I heard, I had to rush over." I sighed, before holding up the fruit basket. "I thought that maybe I could "wow" her with flower shaped fruit." I joked, making him chuckle.

"I think she'll really like her flower shaped fruit." He jokingly commented, while looking at the basket I held.

"HEY!" I heard a familiar shout once we were close to JanDi's room, and a small thud.

"Ah- you always hit the patient!"

"Well, you always hit the woman!"

"I'm hurt for real!"

Jihoo and I glanced at each other, before quietly putting the baskets down near the door, and backing up very slowly.

"Well, it seems as if things are finally back to normal." I chuckled to myself.

#

Even at a ski resort, I still couldn't get much relaxation. I'm convinced that I have insomnia.

Once everything calmed down, all of us decided that we needed a vacation more than anything at the moment. There weren't many choices in the middle of February, so going to a Ski Resort was the best bet.

After laying down in the dark for what seemed like forever, my phone buzzed while it sat on the edge of my bed. I grabbed it, and squinted my eyes at the bright lights and the letters.

[Woobin:] Can you answer the door?

I glanced at the phone for a few seconds before lazily lifting myself out of bed and putting my robe on.

"Are you always going to visit me at odd times of the night?" I chuckled, while answering the door and seeing Woobin there. It was quite late, but I didn't mind because he was trustworthy.

"What kind of woman do you think I am?" I joked, before smiling up at him.

"I'm sorry." He seemed very apologetic, while holding his head. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, it's fine. You can come in." I offered, and he took the invitation. Once he slightly stumbled past me, I noticed the smell of alcohol.

"Have you been drinking?" I curiously asked. The question wasn't answered, but by the way he slumped onto the couch, I could definitely tell that he was buzzed.

"That night, when I visited you, I didn't tell you the whole story." Woobin's words slightly slurred together. I watched him in amusement, before chuckling.

"Really? What was it?" I smiled, playing along with what he was saying. I had only been drunk once in my life, and I knew how it felt to start saying things that were weird.

"He tried to force a girl on me." Was all that Woobin could say. The context confused me, until he began to speak again.

"I'm already going to be the heir of a company that I'm too embarrassed to own. The fact that he wants me to sleep with women although my heart is somewhere else is where I draw the line."

I didn't know what to say after this.

"Song Woobin..." Was all that I could say, while looking at him so frustrated. My brows were furrowed, and I didn't know how to react to the situation.

"If I'm honest," he began, before looking at me. "My heart is with you."

My face softened as soon as he said this. "Me?"

"I think about you, and about us, all of the time." He looked straight at me as he said this. I couldn't tell if the alcohol was the reason why he was being so truthful, but I've never seen such an emotion come out of him. It was almost vulnerable.

"I want to make things work between us a lot." I genuinely spoke. I couldn't look straight at him when I said this, because I was too shy about it. "I feel the same way, and I think about you just as much."

It was silent, before I realized that he leaned in to kiss me. "I like you a lot," He drunkenly slurred.

Once I noticed that he was leaning in very close, I felt a bit intruded.

"Hey, what are you-"

He collapsed on me, and I noticed that he was completely and utterly knocked out. I tapped him while he was laying practically on top of me, to no avail. The situation made me laugh.

"Ah... Maybe he'll wake up soon." I chuckled, before getting him off of me and walking over to the nearby closet to get a blanket and a pillow for him.

Once I put the blanket on him, and the pillow underneath his head, I sat across from him, and waited.

He didn't end up waking up soon enough, and I already found myself drifting off to sleep.

#

Once I woke up in the morning, I noticed that the blanket and pillow that I put on Woobin were now over me. I looked across from me, and Woobin was also gone. When I looked at my phone, I saw that it was later in the afternoon.

'That Woobin...' I thought. I knew that he let me sleep in later.

#

When everyone met up at the Ski Lodge, everyone seemed to be there except for Woobin. I frowned a bit, before walking closer to JanDi and Gaeul.

Once JanDi saw me, her face became a bit more regretful. There was a small silence, and Gaeul looked at us curiously.

"I got the fruit basket."JanDi suddenly mentioned, before hanging her head low.

"Do you hate me?" JanDi asked, hesitantly looking up at me. I chuckled at her response, and shook my head.

"I never hated you. I was just hurt." I smiled at her.

"I didn't mean anything that I said..." JanDi pouted, and I gave her a hug.

"Maybe you did, because we don't live the same lives." I let go after I said that.

"But even if we don't, I still try my hardest to understand you. It's the least that I can do." I reasoned.

"I'm really sorry." JanDi apologized, with a bow. I gave a smile in return and nodded.

"Don't worry about it. It's in the past now." I reassured her with a smile.

We walked from the bathroom of the Ski Lodge, talking about the new necklace that JanDi got from Junpyo, when we saw Woobin and Yijung walking in from the entrance. I gave a smile to Woobin, who returned it with a wink while passing by. I could feel my cheeks turning red, before turning back to JanDi and Gaeul's conversation.

"The necklace really is one of a kind!"

"Just hearing that already makes me so scared to lose it."

"At least you can get nice things like these. I'm cursed." Gaeul sulked, before glancing over at Yijung.

"Let's go." Gaeul suddenly tugged towards us, her face full of determination.

"Huh? Where?" JanDi asked, just as alarmed as I was.

"Where else? Skiing!" Gaeul smiled, before pulling us along.

"I thought you had to eat!" I surprisingly mentioned to Gaeul, who seemed distracted, looking towards Yijung.

"Well, I don't anymore." She hurriedly caught up to the others.

#

Watching JanDi and Gaeul slip and slide around was absolutely adorable. The girls didn't know how to ski at all, and I could tell that this was their first time ever doing something like this.

"I can relate." I smiled at JanDi, who fell over for the 3rd time. Gaeul and I waddled over to help her up.

"We've never done this before." Gaeul gave a shaky smile.

"Don't worry! As long as your careful, you're doing gr-" I started, before being toppled over by 2 skiers, with JanDi also taking the hit. Gaeul looked at us concerned, and I looked up to see Sunny and Miranda.

"Geum JanDi!?" Sunny shouted, with mock-surprise. "I didn't know it was you! I'm so sorry!"

"Who let you witches into the Ski Lodge?" I asked, before standing. The 2 girls glared at me, before JanDi tried to stand again.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." JanDi seemed annoyed by the girls touching her, and helping her up.

"You should be more careful." Miranda remarked, before exchanging a glance with Sunny.

"Okay, you've made your point girls." I pointed out, and Sunny suddenly lost her footing, and stumbled over JanDi again, causing them both to fall over.

"JanDi! Be careful!" Gaeul shouted. JanDi got up after Sunny apologetically lifted her up.

"I'm okay now, you can go." JanDi swatted them away, and the girls exchanged a glance before heading out.

"That was very weird." I furrowed my brows, Gaeul nodding at my words.

"Something's up with them. Why are they even here?" Gaeul asked nobody in particular, while looking into the space. She was looking at a really hectic (and maybe drunk?) skier about to knock her over.

"Gaeul, look out!" JanDi shouted to Gaeul, who seemed frozen.

She was knocked out of the way suddenly by somebody else. Once I got a closer look, I realized that it was Yijung. JanDi glanced over at me and we exchanged a look with each other.

"Gaeul, are you okay?" Yijung shook her, and the smug look on her face almost made me giggle. She opened her eyes, and nodded, with a bright smile on her face.

#

"You should come in soon. There's a blizzard that's about to start." A voice playfully scolded, as they sat down next to me on a bench.

"You're not the boss of me." I teased, turning around to face Woobin. He had two cups in his hands, and he nudged a cup towards me. I took it, and smelled it to find out that it was Hot Cocoa.

"How bad was your hangover?" I joked, before taking a sip, and Woobin shook his head before looking at me apologetically.

"I am so sorry for coming to you when I was drunk. It wasn't polite of me." He cringed. I shook my head with a smile in response.

"Don't worry about it. It was cute." My voice became quiet when the second sentence escaped from my mouth and I had the urge to cover it.

"Still," Woobin began, his voice slightly cracking from the compliment, making him quickly clear his throat.

"It isn't proper for a man to do that." He finished, and I nodded in response.

There was a beat of silence between us both before I looked over at him.

"I was serious," I began, making Woobin look over at me with curious eyes.

"About what I said that night. You may not remember but, I do want to make things work between us both." I glanced at him when I said this.

"I remember that. I hope I didn't pressure you in any way–"

Suddenly, something strong took over me and I decided to make a first move. It was a legendary moment for me: one second I was considering kissing him, and the next moment it actually happened.

And then, it ended as fast as it began when I became overly aware.

Woobin sat in utter shock, and just stared at me for a while. I couldn't even look up afterwards.

"Just promise me that you won't hurt me, and I'm yours." I finally looked at him once I said this, straight inside of his eyes.

"Of course I wouldn't hurt you–"

"You have to promise." I gave a small smile, before playfully holding my pinky out for him to promise with.

"I promise." Woobin returned the pinky promise, and I couldn't help but smile.

#

Once the storm was starting, we realized that we had absolutely nothing to do.

The F4 and I decided that we should just do nothing together, and so we sat in almost complete silence; Jihoo was playing the guitar, and Woobin and Yijung were on their 6th game of poker.

"I'm starting to get cabin fever." Yijung muttered, as Woobin beat him again.

"It sounds like you're just a sore loser." Woobin teased, with a grin painted on his face.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps, and Gaeul came in running.

"We have a big problem." Gaeul began, her face looking troubled. Each of us glanced at each other.

"Gaeul, what happened now?" Yijung asked, and Gaeul looked like she was on the brink of tears.

"JanDi, at the mountain..." She trailed off, before handing Yijung a tiny sticky note. Yijung angled the note over at us so we could get a better look.

'I'm going to find the necklace and return

-JanDi'

"A necklace?" Woobin curiously asked, and I looked over at Gaeul.

"She lost the necklace, didn't she?" I hesitantly asked, and Gaeul nodded her head.

"Where is Junpyo now?" Jihoo asked.

"I have no clue..." Gaeul trailed off, before crossing her arms.

Jihoo immediately took out his phone and began dialing Junpyo's number.

"Junpyo. Where are you?" Jihoo began, with a sense of urgency in his voice.

"JanDi is missing. We think that she went to the mountain to look for a necklace." He looked at each of us, before closing his phone.

"I don't know what Junpyo is planning, but I hope that he'll be here soon." Jihoo sighed.

#

It was still silent, even after Jihoo left briefly and came back. All that could be heard well cellphones dialing, and pacing back and forth. Gaeul couldn't stop crying, and all I could do was hug her and tell her that JanDi would be back soon.

"They said it would be hard to find her because of the blizzard." Yijung sighed.

Gaeul started to cry again, and Jihoo suddenly picked up his jacket and tried to storm out, only to be stopped by Woobin and Yijung.

"What are you doing?" Woobin asked.

"I just cant leave her outside like this." Jihoo tried to push past the two, only to be held back again.

"Think this through: They can't even put out a search party."

"Do you want to cause more trouble?"

"But it's Geum JanDi." Jihoo raised his voice up at the two.

"JanDi is out there, in the snow by herself." He finished, before trying to pass by them again.

"Let me go-"

"Jihoo." Woobin sternly said his name.

"Calm down." Yijung tried to reason with him.

"It wouldn't make any sense for any of us to go out to look for her in these conditions. This is JanDi we're talking about, she's strong." I encouraged, walking over to the 3. Jihoo remained stoic, and put his jacket down on the chair before sitting down.

#

It wasn't until tomorrow morning when JanDi returned with Junpyo. We sat together completely worried for most of the night, and once we heard footsteps approach, all of us jumped up.

"JanDi!" Gaeul shouted, before running over to her side. Once I saw how tired they both looked, my face began to furrow in concern.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked, and JanDi gave a nod.

"We're fine." Junpyo commented, with his arm around JanDi.

Jihoo silently began to reach out, and once his open hand revealed the necklace that JanDi lost, her face immediately brightened. She smugly smiled up to Junpyo, who was also trying to contain his smile.

#

After the long weekend, there was still so much to process in my mind.

Even listening to music couldn't help me stop thinking about everything: JanDi and Junpyo were completely official after everything they went through, JanDi forgave me, Woobin and I-

Woobin and I

That was still a weird phrase to get used to.

If this were about a year ago, I would have laughed at someone who told me that I would have been friends with the F4 again, Friends with the courageous JanDi, and in something like a relationship.

Once my phone rang while I was laying down, I knew the weekend wasn't over just yet.

"JanDi?" I asked, once I answered the phone. The background noise was loud, and I could hear sniffling on the other end.

"Junpyo left." Was all she said.

* * *

A/N: Oh my gosh, college has honestly killed all of my free-time and I'm sososo sorry to whoever has been waiting for almost 3 months.

Another small warning! There will be a time skip in the next chapter (Which was why this chapter was probably the longest chapter I've ever written) It's only a 6 month skip, but it's still relevant to the story!


	14. Episode 13

#

"Hey. Gu Junpyo."

I looked over to Jihoo, who was filming as I spoke. The F4 decided that it was a good idea to send in some videos and tell Junpyo how everything was going since he left so suddenly. As soon as he heard the news of his father suddenly collapsing and passing away, he took an emergency flight out of South Korea.

It had been six months since we've heard from him at all.

It had been a very long six months; JanDi couldn't even stand to hear Junpyo's name without cringing or changing the topic. The F4 still wasn't used to not seeing Junpyo regularly, and everything felt like a piece was missing from us. University started for the F4 and I, and JanDi entered into her Senior year practically alone.

"Remember in High school, 9th year when I said that I never wanted to talk to you again after you put gum in my hair?" I began, chuckling at the memory. The smile suddenly faded when I thought about the next sentence. I didn't think that I could ever miss somebody as self absorbed and stubborn as Gu Junpyo, but once he was gone, it felt as though a fire had burned out.

"Well, I didn't mean it. We all miss you, and even I can't wait to see you again. I hope you're doing well." Once I was finished, I nodded at Jihoo so that he could end the take. He stopped the recording with a slight smile.

"Wow, one take without you cursing him out. That's a record." Jihoo chuckled, before putting his camera away. I scoffed at the playful tone of his voice, and my nose scrunched up.

"I have every right to be mad at him." I crossed my arms defensively, before looking at his curious expression. "Six months without contacting any of us? Without contacting JanDi-" I began, before being cut off.

"There's no use getting worked up over things that we can't help." Jihoo shook his head, and I sighed.

'He was right. I hate when he's always right.' I figured.

"Still. He better have a very good excuse." I trailed off. I sighed after thinking about it, and I reached over to get my coat and leave. My phone suddenly made a text message alert, and I picked it up before freezing at the message.

[Woobin:] We should talk.

I furrowed my brows before throwing the phone into my shoulder bag.

'I think you've said enough already.' I thought, with annoyance painting over my expression.

It had been 2 months since the breakup, and I avoided Song Woobin like the plague. For him to open up to me only for my prediction of his personality to be correct was devastating.

"How have you been, Sohee?" Jihoo suddenly asked, taking me aback. He stared at me intensively, making me feel embarrassed.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" I asked, my tone sounding more surprised than I would have liked. Once I realized what he was referencing to, I shuffled uncomfortably without realizing before forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine." I nodded quickly, before picking up my coat, and storming away to avoid conversation.

"I think you should talk to him." Jihoo commented, as though he said it absentmindedly. I froze when he suggested that, feeling the heat rise up to my face.

"I'll see you later." I commented before I hastily readjusted my shoulder bag and began walking away with more persistence.

#

We should talk.

It rang through my head again once I glanced at my phone. I wanted to pick up the phone, text him back and tell him to meet me, but I was far too stubborn to do that. Part of me wondered if there was a reason: There couldn't be any way for a guy to open up to you to suddenly close you out, without much explanation. The dominant part, however told me not to get my hopes up.

"Sohee," JanDi's voice snapped me back into our conversation. When I glanced over at her, it was a signal for her to continue. We were sitting in silence for a while, and she didn't seem like her usual cheerful self.

"I went to the doctors yesterday." She stated, making me raise my brows.

"Is something wrong?" I cautiously asked, making JanDi look over at me.

"I won't be able to swim anymore because of my shoulder." She said, her voice sounding blunt. My face immediately softened at the news, and I didn't know what to do.

"It's that bad?" I hesitated asking the question. JanDi looked into the space ahead of us, her eyes looking sullen. She didn't answer the question, but her silence was more than enough for me to get the hint.

"Oh, JanDi. I'm so sorry." I genuinely said, before hugging my legs. JanDi seemed as though she was about to begin crying.

"I think I've cried about it as much as I can at this point...But it was the only thing that I was actually good at," She bitterly remarked. "What's next for me?"

"That's where you're wrong." I interrupted. "You're very bright, and I've never met such a kind soul in my life. Your best talent is that you never give up, no matter what."

"I wish that I could change things as much as you did in such a short time in my entire lifetime." I looked out at the mirrors staring back at us. We were inside of the empty dance classroom, which became a new hiding spot for me since the college semester began.

"You change things a lot, too." JanDi replied, making me bitterly chuckle as a response.

"When I first came to Shinhwa, the first person who decided to befriend the commoner of the school was you." She smiled, before standing up. The memory of JanDi entering into Shinhwa made a warm, nostalgic feeling sweep through my body.

"I should go and try to relax." JanDi excused herself, before standing up.

"Feel better, please." I almost begged her

Once I was completely alone, I glanced at myself in the mirror for a short while before looking down at my phone again. I was suddenly startled by my phone making a noise while I was looking at the lockscreen.

[Woobin:] Please.

I hesitantly opened my phone, before slowly typing a response. I couldn't decide whether or not to answer.

[Sohee:] Why should I?

I waited for his response, before hearing a voice outside of the door.

"Because I'm already here, so we have no choice but to talk." His deep voice rang from the other side.

I quickly stood, and started pacing towards the door. I put my hand on the knob, before hesitating. I quickly took my hand off the knob and jumped when my phone vibrated again.

[Woobin:] Are you there?

Part of me wondered if he was just wondering if I would lie and he knew I was in there.

[Sohee:] Where? I went home.

Once the message sent, I heard a sigh from the other side of the door, and steps walking away. I couldn't help but sigh and bite my lip.

'Just let me be angry with you' I frustratingly thought before sitting back down in my spot.

#

"I think," JanDi hesitated with finishing her sentence. In my house, I made sure that JanDi could wrap herself around in a blanket and rest. I knew how heartbroken she felt over not being able to swim as well as she used to. I looked towards her in a way that told her to keep going.

"I think I'm going to follow Gu Junpyo." She finally stated after a short silence. I tilted my head in confusion.

"You're going to find him?" I asked, and JanDi gave a sharp nod. "I don't think I should give up just yet..." She trailed off, making me glance at her concernedly.

"JanDi, I hate so say this but...what if there's a reason why he hasn't contacted us?" I curiously asked. Junpyo wasn't a complete asshole. I knew that in the back of my mind, he didn't cut us off because he didn't want to speak to us.

"Then, I will find it out respectfully, as his girlfriend." JanDi nodded to herself. I tried not to sigh, before wrapping my arm around her.

"Well, if you're doing this, I can't let you do it alone." I offered, and she shook her head.

"Sohee, I love you, but I have to do this by myself."

"But, you and I both know whenever you do things, it leads to trouble."

"I'd rather go by myself tomorrow. He's in Macau, and-"

"Macau, as in China? JanDi..." I trailed off, making JanDi bite her lip. She knew that I was right.

"I'll send you a postcard." JanDi tried to lighten up the mood with a sheepish smile. I gave in immediately, and playfully rolled my eyes. I knew that she was too stubborn to let me go with her and do everything.

"Fine, fine. I won't meddle." I lied. I knew that I had to tell the F3 about this because she would get into trouble.

"Thank you so much! I'll be fine, I promise!" JanDi opened her arms to give me a huge hug. There was a small pause, before JanDi spoke again.

"You're going to tell the F4, aren't you?" She asked, and I chuckled, before nodding.

"Definitely."

#

JanDi swam as fast as her arm allowed her in the steep school pool. It was the last time she would be able to swim here, and everyone including the F3 and Gaeul came to celebrate the occasion.

I heard Gaeul sniffle next to me, which made me glance over. I couldn't help but grin at the sight of Yijung handing her his handkerchief. Once JanDi finished swimming, Jihoo walked over in order to help her out of the pool, and I couldn't help but smile at the kind gesture.

I glanced over at Woobin, who seemed to already be glancing, because he quickly looked away as soon as we locked eyes.

'Why is he so predictable? ' I chuckled to myself.

JanDi gathered herself enough to walk over to us. Her hair was still dripping wet, but she managed to dry off enough. Jihoo seemed to have a cirtificate with him, and began reading off from it.

"From now on..." Jihoo began, glancing at JanDi before clearing his throat.

"Right now, We will begin Swimmer Geum JanDi's retirement ceremony. First, we will present our distinguished service award." Jihoo began, before stuttering. All of us let out a chuckle, and Woobin decided to continue the speech.

"Distinguished Service Award. It is presented to Geum JanDi based on her natural nosiness, and her "weed" spirit," He began, making everyone chuckle.

"The only student who had the best swimming ability at such a fierce, prestigious school such as Shinhwa." He leaned the certificate over for Yijung to read.

"Especially with the specialty of taming the F4 and Gu Junpyo, she is second to none, thus raising the standards for her sportsmanship and therefore awarded Distinguished Service by Korea's F4." He finished the speech. Jihoo took the certificate, and handed it to JanDi, whose expression seemed wistful. She gave a bow, and I began the applause.

"Geum JanDi, an ending means another beginning." Yijung encouraged.

"Now, go to Macau, find Junpyo, and give it to him good." Woobin smiled, while making a playful fighting stance.

"Thank you guys, truly." JanDi thanked, with a bow.

"JanDi." Gaeul called at her, before giving her a hug. I joined in with the hug as well.

"Have a safe trip." I encouraged to her, and she gave a small smile back.

"I will!" She shouted to encourage herself.

"JanDi...We should get ready for work now." Gaeul patted her on the back, and JanDi nodded.

"It was nice seeing you guys. Thank you so much!" She bowed, before walking away with Gaeul. Once the door closed, I glanced at it to make sure she was gone.

"Which flight should we catch?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Definitely the 7am flight tomorrow. We don't know what she'll get herself into in such a short amount of time." Jihoo commented, making me nod.

"Okay, let's get ready, then." Yijung suggested.

#

"I'm on a plane again with you guys..." I remarked, before sitting down in a plane seat. Woobin glanced at me once I sat down in a seat alone.

"Cheer up...it's a short flight at least." Woobin hesitantly encouraged, and I pressed my lips into a fine line.

Once the plane took off, I couldn't hold on to the pillow in front of me any tighter than I already was.

"Sohee, are you alright?" Woobin, who was sitting across from me concernedly asked. I gave a small smile and a weak nod.

"I'm fine." Was all I could muster to say to him. He didn't break his glance this time, as if he needed to talk about something.

"I knew that you were still in the dance room that day...That was why I didn't walk in." He mentioned with a soft voice, so that Yijung, who was seated a few seats back, and Jihoo, who seemed to be napping next to us couldn't hear.

I froze when he mentioned this. "I'm sorry..." I apologized while looking down at my pillow.

"I don't blame you, but I just-" Woobin began, struggling to find words.

"I didn't break up with you for the reason you think." Woobin admitted, making me furrow my brows.

"Why are you telling me this now?" I whispered to him sharply.

"I think you misunderstood my intentions a lot–" He began, but I cut him off without thinking.

"The night after I tell you that we should take things slower is when you chose to break up with me?" I whispered. "Was it really too much to wait? Tell me, are all guys this narrow-minded?" I asked, making Woobin pause. He seemed hurt by what I said, and at that moment I didn't care much about it.

"We need to talk about this after we get to Macau because we won't at least get eavesdropped there." Woobin commented. "Please don't avoid me next time and let me explain."

"No promises." I shot back, almost playfully before realizing that my hands were shaking.

"You're shaking." Woobin commented, making me look out the window. I knew that tears were threatening to leave my eyes, and if I were to look at him again, I wouldn't be able to hold back.

#

"Alright," Jihoo began. He exited out of Junpyo's hotel with a sigh. There was no sign of JanDi anywhere, and we were starting to grow weary.

"We should split up." Jihoo suggested. "2 of us go left and two of us go right."

I nodded at the idea, until Yijung put his arm around Jihoo. "Yoon Jihoo. My great friend. Shall we go right?"

Jihoo paused at the idea for a second, until he nodded with approval.

"Call us if you need anything." Jihoo casually threw out before walking away with a grimace of a smirk on his face.

'Those bastards.' I thought.

I glanced over at Woobin, who seemed just as confused by the banter. "Well, we should try and find JanDi." He suggested, before beginning to walk in the opposite direction of Jihoo and Yijung.

There was a silence between us, until I decided to break it.

"Earlier," I began, making Woobin look over to me. I managed to keep my expression stoic while he looked over, my eyebrows heightened in mock-curiosity.

"When you said I misunderstood your intentions, Did I really?" I tried to ask as casually as possible. "I was angry, and maybe I said some things I shouldn't have said." I nudged the idea at him, trying not to make it seem like I was apologizing.

"My father...found out about us." Woobin suddenly admitted, albeit hesitantly. I curiously looked over at him, slightly freezing before remembering that we had to find JanDi.

"I didn't like how he acted after he found out-"

"HEY, YOU! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SUITCASE!"

Woobin and I glanced at each other after hearing a very loud, angry high-pitched Korean girl shout in the distance.

"Geum JanDi!" I shouted, running into the direction where she was at.

"Sohee stay back, it could be dangerous." Woobin hushed me, and he began to text the other F3 members.

"HELP ME!" We heard a shout. Footsteps came running up to us,and we quickly discovered that it was Jihoo and Yijung.

"Where is she?" Jihoo asked, and Woobin stepped up.

"She's close by, let's hurry." Woobin hastily led them over to JanDi.

"Stay behind us, Sohee!" Jihoo warned, before heading in with the rest of the F3.

When I saw the F3 stride in to fight off JanDi's attackers, I immediately ran over to JanDi to make sure she was alright. JanDi wrapped me into a hug as soon as she realized it was me, and began to start crying.

I glanced over to see the guys tangled in the fight, and my eyes couldn't help but lock in at Woobin, who seemed to be very skilled with having to fight people off. The attackers didn't seem to be good fighters, because they were on the ground and knocked out within less than 5 minutes.

Woobin approached one of the attackers, and pointed with a scowl on his face. "Do you know Il Shimhwe?"

The seemingly innocent question caused the attackers to cower back in fear.

"A-are you Prince Song?" One of the attackers asked, and Woobin replied with a stern. "Yeah."

This caused all of the men to get on their knees and beg.

"Please, overlook this!"

"I'm sorry!"

Woobin returned the begging with a scowl. "Just get lost. Go!" He shouted, making the men run off.

I couldn't help but stare at him after the ordeal.

Jihoo walked over to JanDi and I , and bent down so that he could talk to JanDi at the same level. "We aren't psychic. I just had a feeling." He reassured her.

"A feeling?" JanDi replied, confused by the context.

"I had a feeling you'd be crying just like this." He chuckled, as he wiped away her tears. It was a gesture that made me envious from the bottom of my heart. After a second of smiling at each other, JanDi glanced up at Woobin and Yijung, who both seemed to like the sight.

* * *

AN: a christmas gift! i apologize ;; i've been busy because of college and writers block! I've aso been grieving because of Jonghyun passing away. He meant a lot to me.

Soooo if you're a bit confused, Sohee and Woobin dated for a few months until Woobin broke it off. I had a chapter explaining this better, but I thought it would be confusing so I'll use it later on! Whoever read it though, don't worry! It doesn't really spoil anything.


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